(Reuters) – Under heavy pressure from Western sanctions and airspace bans, Russian state flagship airline Aeroflot plans to raise up to 185.2 billion roubles ($3 billion) in an emergency share issue, the company said on Tuesday.

Aeroflot, which is controlled by the Russian state, said shareholders at its annual meeting had approved the issuance of 5.42 billion new shares which could be bought at a price of 34.29 roubles each under an open subscription.

With passenger numbers still down by a third on pre-coronavirus levels at the start of the year, the company has since been severely hit by Western sanctions in response to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Having once harboured ambitions of becoming a world-leading airline, it now finds itself on the front lines of what President Vladimir Putin has called an “economic war” with the West.

SOURCE REUTERS