A RUSSIAN government charity fund has been used to subsidise fares of children coming to Ireland under the Chernobyl Children's Project, Mr Boris Krivchenko, Aeroflot's general manager at Shannon, said yesterday.
Because of a reduced number of seats available on Aeroflot aircraft coming into Shannon, a preliminary estimate of $700 per child had been quoted, he said.
On Aeroflot's recommendation, the Russian ambassador in Dublin, to whom representation was made, enabled the fare to be reduced to $250 per child. Aeroflot and the Russian authorities had played a major role in making sure that the maximum number of Russian children would be brought to Ireland, he said.
