10 Mar 2022 18:11

Airlines register 176 planes in Russia - Rosaviatsia

MOSCOW. March 10 (Interfax) - Russian airlines have registered 176 planes in the national register to date, head of the Continuous Airworthiness Management Department at the Federal Air Transport Service (Rosaviatsia) Valery Kudinov said.

"As of this date, 176 aircraft have been registered in Russia, including 21 planes for Utair, 38 for Rossiya, two from Izhavia, one from Yerofei, 27 belonging to Pobeda and 80 from Aeroflot," Kudinov said at the MRO Russia & CIS conference.

The planes registered in Russia include seven Airbus A350 flown bt Aeroflot, he said.

Before sanctions, there was only a small number of aircraft, around 70, either registered or "monotonously transferred" into the Russian registry, Kudinov said.

However, Rosaviatsia's press service said: "[Kudinov's statements] regarding the number and type of aircraft registered in the state registry of Russian civilian aircraft are untrue." The agency has yet to provide correct data.

Re-registering the fleet will enable companies to continue operating foreign aircraft in Russia, Kudinov said. "As far as I know, some of the aircraft will be returned [to foreign lessors] while others, I think, will subsequently be operaating [in Russia]," he said, explaining that a decision on each aircraft will be made by the operator itself. Most likely, airline companies will want to keep those that are midway through their service life ("neither new nor old"), he added.

It was reported that on February 26 the European Union sanctioned exports, maintenance and insurance for civilian aircraft and parts to Russia. The sanctions also order aircraft-leasing companies to tear up existing contracts by the end of March.

Most Russian air carriers use foreign-made aircraft, primarily from Boeing and Airbus. Almost all are registered abroad, mainly in Bermuda. According to the Cirium advisory firm, more than half of the aircraft are leased from foreign owners.