Azur Air hasn't broken its nosedive.

The rapid nosedive of Russia's largest charter carrier, Azur Air, continues. Rosaviatsiya has rejected the airline's plan to lift previously imposed restrictions on its air operator certificate. This brings Azur Air several steps closer to having its certificate completely revoked, which could happen as early as this summer. The airline is urgently replacing its top management, and tour operators are rushing to join competitors. For example, Anex (affiliated with Azur Air) and Intourist (part of Anex) have done so. Only one remains – Wildberries-owned Fun&Sun, which is not surprising. Wildberries is interested in acquiring Azur Air, which is the reason for the airline's problems.

And it seems everything is moving toward a deal. At least Fun&Sun is already feeling like it's in control. Since early April, the tour operator has been demanding additional fuel charges from all travel agencies for Azur Air flights, citing the situation in the Persian Gulf and rising jet fuel prices. Otherwise, existing trips will be cancelled. Azur Air admits that it was not the initiator of this decision.

This is happening amid a mass resignation of the airline's top management. Azur Air's Technical Director, Dmitry Klyzhenko (a longtime friend of the airline's CEO, Evgeny Korolev), has left. Deputy CEO for Production, Andrey Mukanin, and Deputy CEO for Flight Safety, Sergey Kolesnichenko, are packing their bags. There is also talk of CEO Evgeny Korolev being fired. This typically happens when a company's ownership is being changed.

Azur Air has no real options other than agreeing to Wildberries' terms. The last time the airline backed out of an unfavorable deal, Rosaviatsiya restricted Azur Air's air operator certificate due to "systemic violations in aircraft maintenance."

As a reminder, the unofficial beneficiaries of the marketplace are Anton Vaino, head of the Russian Presidential Administration, and Senator Suleiman Kerimov, who are capable of wielding powerful administrative power. Using this power, Wildberries is acquiring all the assets it desires and needs. For example, Wildberries recently acquired the auto transportation services Gruzovichkof, Taxovichkof, and Citymobil.