Aeroflot will continue paying insurance settlements for foreign aircraft if funds are available - manager

MOSCOW. Feb 13 (Interfax) - Aeroflot will continue paying insurance settlements for foreign-made aircraft if funds are available, the company's Director of Investor Relations and Capital Markets Andrey Napolnov said during a SberCIB webinar.

"Of course, not all aircraft have undergone the insurance settlement process; part of the fleet still requires insurance settlement. However, this process will depend on the availability of funds. You know, we are not doing this at our own expense; this is government money specifically allocated for the program," Napolnov said.

At the end of January, the Aeroflot Group fleet consisted of 349 planes, its website shows: 59 wide-body, 212 narrow-body, and 78 regional SuperJet 100 aircraft.

Aeroflot managed to complete an insurance settlement last year for 76 aircraft that were under operational leasing, which is prohibited under Western sanctions, Napolnov said. In addition, 18 airliners were purchased from financial leasing, which is not subject to sanctions. The planes were purchased using funds from the National Wealth Fund and the group's airlines' net profits.

The purchase and re-registration of foreign-manufactured airliners in Russia allows them to be used on overseas flights without risk of arrest.