The Bulgarian Government will scrutinise a September 23 report, submitted by the Transport and Information Technology Minister Alexander Tsvetanov for the termination of the leasing contract of two, or at least one, of the Airbus 319 aircraft, Dnevnik daily has reported.

The contract, worth more than 110 million dollars, was signed by the cabinet of former Bulgarian prime minister Sergei Stanishev with BHAir.

The contract was revised by the prosecutor's office following a report, issued by the ministry, that  "abnormalities and wrongdoings were committed upon selecting the type of aircraft".

The aircraft were deemed insufficient for requirements due to their "very low range" and need "to refuel at short distances". Given their shortcomings, it was "unclear why the former cabinet ordered two of the same type of aircraft".

Prime Minister Boiko Borissov decided to terminate the contract because the transport ministry's budget can no longer afford it, given that the monthly leasing amounts to 2.8 million leva, and to date the Government has already paid 14 million leva for the two aircraft.

The most likely outcome is that at least one of the aircraft is to be returned to their owners.

On April 13 2009, Deutsche Bank secured 75 per cent of the funds needed to lease two Airbus A319 jets for the Bulgarian Government, which arrived in Sofia on May 15 2009.

Deustche Bank and the Transport Ministry leased the planes from BHAir, the company supposed to buy the jets from German air carrier AirBerlin.

The price of the one-year-old planes is $44.2 million each. The five-year lease will cover the cost of the planes, as well as the service cost. Once the lease expires, the Transport Ministry will become the owner of the two planes.

The Airbus A320 family of short to medium-range commercial passenger airliners were manufactured as the only narrow-body jets in their product line. Family members include the A318, A319, A320, and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet.

The A319 is a shortened, minimum change version of the A320. With virtually the same fuel capacity as the A320-200, and fewer passengers, the range with 124 passengers in a two-class configuration extends to 3600 nautical miles (6900km), the highest in its class. A319s are among the most popular variants of the A320 family.