January 12 (SeeNews) - State-controlled flag carrier Croatia Airlines [ZSE:CRAL-R-A] said on Thursday it has sold five slot pairs at London's Heathrow Airport to US Delta Airlines for $19.5 million (18.3 million euro).
Prior to the deal, Croatia Airlines held nine weekly slot pairs - rights for landing and take-off - at Europe's busiest airport, the airline's PR representative told SeeNews.
The deal will go into force on April 1. Croatia Airlines plans to invest the proceeds from the sale into aircraft maintenance.
According to local media reports, the sold slots are for morning flights on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Croatia Airlines will keep its afternoon slots on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
In 2013, the government invited expressions of interest in the purchase of a 49% stake in Croatia Airlines but the offer failed to draw any candidates. In early 2016, Croatia's previous government removed the flag carrier from its list of companies whose sale is banned because they are considered to be of strategic importance for the country.
($=0.939542 euro)