Volga-Dnepr said to be flying through more financial turbulence

Pressure is growing on Volga-Dnepr Group following a claim in a Russian newspaper that one of its offices was unable to make payroll last month.

The news follows a recent article in The Loadstar indicating potential financial difficulties with the expected deliveries of 777 freighters next year.

Ulnovosti.ru reported that people at the Ulyanovsk office were told they may not get salaries until January, but were welcome to leave the company. One source also told The Loadstar that payroll had not been met in one part of the company, following a dire first half, but this has not been confirmed.

The Russian paper reported that Volga-Dnepr Group was $100m in debt and sources told The Loadstar earlier in the year that AirBridgeCargo had made heavy losses in the first half and problems with the AN-124 fleet had prevented ABC from being subsidised by its parent.

However, CargoForwarder reports the group as saying there were “no salary arrears to the employees of any company of the Volga-Dnepr Group”, and that any current financial negotiations were routine.