MOSCOW, October 3 - RAPSI, Dmitry Shchitov. An appellate court registered on Monday the Fourthtour travel agency's appeal against the court order to pay $3.3 million in debt to Transaero Airlines, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI).

Transaero was established on November 5, 1991, as the first Russian private airline. It is based at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.

Transaero reported in March that it would no longer work with Fourthtour due to the travel agency's debt to the airline. It also announced its intention of suing Fourthtour to recover the debt.

The airline notified Fourthtour of its cessation of their working relationship on March 1, which, the airline maintains, was necessitated by the travel agency's ever-increasing debt and dishonest accounting for debt payments.

Fourthtour began to accrue the debt last fall. By February, its debt exceeded $3.3 million, of which only $572,000 is covered by a bank guarantee, the company reported.

The travel agency challenged the Moscow Commercial Court's September 2 decision to uphold the airlines' lawsuit.

The hearing date has yet to be scheduled.