Russia is working on sourcing spare parts for aircraft from China and other countries, according to the transport ministry on Friday, and has yet to decide whether to buy foreign aeroplanes for Russian airlines to lease.
Why is Russia planning to do this?
Sanctions issued by Western countries as a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February have cut off the supply of the majority of aircraft and aircraft parts to Russia.
Sanctions also forced Russian carriers to cancel many international flights in fear of the aircraft being seized internationally.
Valery Kudinov, head of the Aircraft Airworthiness Department at the Federal Air Transport Agency, said that maintenance of aircraft and imports of spare parts is planned to be resolved, one method being through the re-export of components.
Running into roadblocks
Russia is being met with some difficulties.
On Thursday, an official at Russia’s aviation authority said that China has refused to supply Russian airlines with aircraft parts after Boeing and Airbus halted the supply of aircraft components to Russian airlines.
Alina Malysheva, director of the transport ministry’s legal support department, provided further information in a meeting with lawmakers from the Federation Council – the Russian Parliament’s upper house.
“Questions of supplies of spare parts from China and other Asian countries are being worked out,A decision on buying [planes] has not yet been taken,” she concluded.
Malysheva continued, stating that 739 of Russia’s 1,367 aeroplanes are registered abroad and that Russian aircraft may be able to be registered in Russia without being taken off the foreign registers they’re currently assigned to.
Kudinov added separately that the search would continue through other countries, those countries possibly being Turkey or India.
What do you think of Russia’s hunt for aircraft parts? Let us know!
