Russian airlines continue to use Airbus and Boeing aircraft despite sanctions – media
Russian airlines continue to operate 467 Airbus and Boeing aircraft out of the 544 they used before the full-scale invasion.
This was reported by the American news agency Bloomberg.
– Russian airlines have refused to fly to the United States and Western Europe, instead increasing the number of flights to Thailand, Turkey and the UAE, as well as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the report says.
According to the newspaper, Russian air carriers operate about 1,100 domestic flights a day, which is about 15% less than before the start of the full-scale war.
Despite the sanctions, the target industries of the Russian Federation are finding workarounds or turning to other partners.
– The Kremlin has banned airlines from returning leased aircraft to their owners abroad and urged carriers to re-register them in Russia.
Thus, most of the aircraft continue to fly, although they are cut off from important software updates and maintenance that is necessary to guarantee their airworthiness, the newspaper writes.
It is also noted that since the beginning of last year, Boeing has not supplied spare parts, maintenance or technical support to Russia in accordance with US sanctions.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said that in the second half of 2022, Russian airlines used his company’s aircraft more than before the pandemic.
– Russian carriers are purchasing parts from “friendly” countries such as the United Arab Emirates and moving components from one plane to another to keep operating, Bloomberg notes.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western countries imposed sanctions, which, in particular, affected the Russian transportation sector.
They include a ban on the sale of aircraft and spare parts to Russia.
After that, Russian carriers faced a refusal to cooperate with Airbus and Boeing, manufacturers of engines and components.
As a reminder, on February 27, 2022, Germany, like most countries, closed its airspace to Russian aircraft in response to Russia’s large-scale military invasion of Ukraine. As a result, 10 airliners were stranded in Germany.
