MOSCOW, December 21 - RAPSI. The court has postponed until February 16 its hearing of Aeroflot's $4.6 million claim against VTB 24 bank, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Aeroflot has sought to recover losses resulting from a hacker attack on its online ticket sales system on July 16, 2010. The problem was only fixed a week later.

The court decided to postpone the hearing to allow the parties time to submit additional documents.

Earlier, the bank filed a counterclaim against the airline, seeking 23.7 million rubles ($739,000) in expenses and fees for American Express card authorizations, among other damages.

VTB 24 is the airline's settlement bank and sells its e-tickets.

Based in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, Aeroflot is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, which flies to 898 destinations across 169 countries. Its aircraft fleet is one of the youngest in Europe.

VTB 24 is Russia's second largest retail bank. Its profits in 2011 are expected to reach 28 billion rubles ($873.6 million).