MOSCOW, January 13 - RAPSI. A court has dismissed a petition filed by a tour operator to suspend the execution of the court's judgment awarding Trasnaero airline $3.1 million in suit to recover debt, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Fourthtour travel agency requested to suspend the judgment because of its inability to pay off such a large debt.

However, the Moscow District Federal Commercial Court dismissed the petition.

Fourthtour also challenged the appeals court's decision of November 18, 2011 which upheld the amount of debt claimed by Trasnaero. The court will hear the appeal on February 1.

The Moscow Commercial Court satisfied the company's lawsuit seeking to recover 98.6 million rubles ($3.11 million) in debt from the travel agency on September 2, 2011.

The airline notified Fourthtour of terminating their business relations starting from March 1, 2011 due to the travel agency's spiraling debt resulted from its failure to pay for flights.

Fourthtour began to accrue its debt last fall. As of February it exceeded $3.3 million, of which only $572,000 was covered by the bank guarantee, the company reported.
In February the company started receiving false payment orders from the travel agency.

The plaintiff then reported that Transaero intended to file a lawsuit to recover the principal debt and penalty interest and to sue it for fraud.