The Associated Press
Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000; 4:21 p.m. EDT
MOSCOW — Russian airline giant Aeroflot said Wednesday it has urged the U.S. government to lift a ban on smoking on regular airline flights between the United States and other countries.
Aeroflot maintains that the ban, which went into effect June 4, violates international law, and has appealed to the International Air Transport Association to step into the dispute.
Aeroflot representatives met with U.S. State Department officials in Washington last week to discuss lifting the ban, Aeroflot said in a statement. Details of the talks have not been released.
The head of Aeroflot’s legal department, Boris Yeliseyev, said that if the ban remains in place, Russia may retaliate by demanding that foreign airliners that carry Russian passengers have Russian-speaking flight attendants on board, in accordance with Russian law.
Russia is one of the most smoker-friendly nations in the world, with few limits on smoking in public places.
© Copyright 2000 The Associated Press