Russia's UTair seeks to lease helicopters to friendly nations for UN market re-entry

MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - UTair Airlines is exploring options to lease its helicopters to countries friendly towards Russia as a way to re-enter the UN market, UTair Deputy General Director and Chief Operating Officer Pavel Mukhin said.

"We used to work extensively in the UN market, including international food transportation missions, but unfortunately due to circumstances [sanctions] we can no longer participate in these contracts. Our solution for returning to the UN market involves leasing helicopters to organizations in friendly countries. This process has already been initiated," Mukhin said during a roundtable discussion at the Federation Council about measures to ensure Russia's transport independence through expanded aircraft production.

The aviation equipment is expected to be transferred along with Russian pilots and technical personnel, he said.

"Everyone agrees to all this, and we have even already received permission from the export control commission to export the first aircraft. But we've hit a snag: the Air Code states that if we want to remove an aircraft from the [Russian] registry, we must either sell it or legally transfer ownership to that organization. If we do that, we completely lose control over the helicopter. We want to arrange a lease, but under a lease agreement, we cannot remove the aircraft from the Russian registry. If we don't remove it, then we're effectively saying everywhere that we're operating under the Russian flag," Mukhin said. He suggested that lawmakers discuss this issue in more detail.

The UN has historically been the primary customer for UTair's helicopter operations abroad. In 2022, due to anti-Russian sanctions, the carrier's share in the organization's contracts began to decline.

UTair Group's fleet comprises over 300 helicopters of various types. JSC AK-Invest controls the group with a 50.5% stake.