MOSCOW, September 7 - RAPSI, Dmitry Shchitov. The Supreme Commercial Court has held against the Defense Ministrys request to review a lower-courts dismissal of its lawsuit against the Polyot air carrier, a court official told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI).

The plaintiff sought 1.4 billion rubles ($50 million) and $22 million in damages.

The ministry is seeking the repayment of the air carriers debt, which the company accumulated through the nonpayment of its lease of an An-124 airplane, which it started renting from the ministry in 2000. The requested amount includes penalties for the aircrafts late acceptance and return.

Polyot, a Voronezh-based company, transports super-heavy and bulk cargo. It has made regular passenger flights since 2003. Its fleet includes Аn-124-100 Ruslan and Il-96-400Т cargo aircraft, as well as Saab 2000 passenger planes.