The EU countries have agreed on a package of the most stringent sanctions against Russian aviation. According to the adopted decisions, domestic airlines are actually deprived of the opportunity to operate European aircraft. The EU has not only banned the supply of new aircraft and spare parts to Russia, but also the maintenance of existing aircraft and aircraft insurance. In addition, within a month, airlines will have to return the aircraft already received under existing leasing agreements.
Currently, Russian carriers have 322 Airbus aircraft in their fleet. Aeroflot has the largest number of such aircraft – 117. S7 Airlines owns 66 aircraft of the European concern, and Ural Airlines fly only on them, with 54 aircraft. Overall, 10 of the country’s top 20 air carriers use Airbus aircraft.
The imposed sanctions deal a very strong blow to Russian civil aviation. Not only a separate sector of the economy is under threat, but also transportation within the country, not to mention foreign flights. Some compare the situation with the one in which Belavia found itself, having lost the possibility of aircraft maintenance.