The State Aviation Service’s head Denys Antoniuk has complained to General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin about the actions of the Odessa region’s Governor Mikhail Saakashvili. Antoniuk posted pictures of the letter on his Facebook page.
Antoniuk is demanding an investigation to determine whether Saakashvili abused his official position when he appeared at a meeting of the commission on distribution of air routes on 26 June. According to the letter, the governor is not a representative of any airline and he did not announce his intention to attend the meeting in advance.
"After the commission made the decision to reject the AtlasJet Ukraine airline’s application to operate flights on the Odessa-Istanbul air route, Saakashvili began to publicly accuse me – as the head of the State Aviation Service – of selling the state service to oligarchic interests and receiving wages from individuals, as well as to lie about my income and so on," Antoniuk wrote in the letter.
In addition, according to him, Saakashvili said he would do everything possible to dissolve the commission.
Antoniuk said that these "illegal actions" by Saakashvili were aimed at enabling the AtlasJet Ukraine airline to obtain the right to operate flights on the Odessa-Istanbul route, as evidenced by his own statements on the Shuster Live television show.
Antoniuk wrote that he was dealt a "significant non-pecuniary damage, which is expressed in the form of strong nervous stress ... as a result of which his health deteriorated and his normal rhythm of life was disrupted." The head of the State Aviation Service estimated the damage inflicted on him by Saakashvili's actions at UAH 1 million.
Antoniuk also asked the general prosecutor to investigate the legality of his suspension from the post of head of the State Aviation Service.
