Russians continue to use Airbus and Boeing planes despite sanctions – Bloomberg

Bloomberg writes about this with reference to Cirium data.

After a year of war, Russian carriers still operate 467 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, compared to 544 in 2022.

The agency claimed that Russian airlines have abandoned flights to the United States and Western Europe, but have increased the number of flights to Thailand, Turkey, and the UAE, as well as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In particular, Russian carriers operate approximately 1,100 domestic flights per day, which is about 15% less than a year ago.

The authors noted that in order to keep its aviation sector afloat, the Kremlin has banned airlines from returning leased aircraft to their owners abroad and encouraged carriers to re-register them in Russia. As a result, most of them continue to fly, although they are cut off from important software updates and regulatory maintenance required to ensure their airworthiness.

Boeing has said it has not provided parts, maintenance or technical support to airlines or maintenance companies in Russia since early last year in accordance with US sanctions.

And Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said on February 16 that the company's data shows that Russian airlines used his company's aircraft in the second half of 2022 more than before the pandemic. Although Faury added that the company does not maintain contacts with airlines in Russia, Airbus has reported difficulties in maintaining aircraft flights as they struggle to replace missing components.

To continue operating, Russian carriers purchase spare parts from "friendly" countries and move components from one aircraft to another.

• Since the beginning of 2023, there have been at least seven accidents involving passenger aircraft in Russia, and many more incidents that have forced flights to be canceled or interrupted.

• And in December, senior US officials threatened Turkish individuals with imprisonment, fines, and loss of export privileges if they provided fueling and spare parts for the US-made aircraft flying from Turkey to Russia and Belarus and back in violation of export controls imposed last spring.

• On February 1, Turkey's largest ground handling operator warned Russian airlines that they will stop providing services to their aircraft made from American components.