MOSCOW, June 19 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court has dismissed defamation lawsuit filed by Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, against Izvestia newspaper.

The lawsuit centers on an Izvestia article which alleges that Aeroflot pilots fall asleep at the steering wheel during flights as a result of their excessive workload. The plaintiff demanded that the paper should refute the allegations and pay out five million rubles ($153,400) in moral damages.

Aeroflot urged "all media not to reproduce the information published by Izvestia."

Meanwhile, Izvestia’s representative noted that the plaintiff wants the paper to refute the whole text, without specifying the phrases it considers defamatory, despite the fact that the article also contains historical facts, information about other companies and official comments from Aeroflot.

In addition, although the article publishes information about the company Aeroflot, there are 83 companies which use the same word in their names. Therefore, the plaintiff should first prove that the article was referring specifically to the airline.

Aeroflot is a member of SkyTeam global air alliance. The state, represented by the Federal Agency for State Property, is the airline's major shareholder, holding a 51.17-percent stake.