According to a Russian investigative media opposed to the government, the economic sanctions which weigh on the country have consequences on the maintenance of the planes.
Russian investigative media Proekt (The Project), recently warned of the increased risks of flying in Russia. The country had however become very safe in terms of aviation, theThe machines used were modern, well maintained and checkedbut the war disrupted the sector.
With the invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions, Russian companies found themselves cut off from aircraft manufacturers, mainly Airbus and Boeing. No more question of buying a spare part from them, nor of sending them the planes for overhaul. Especially since the planes are rented to Western companies, which are demanding the return of their machines. And if the Russian companies have kept them, these planes must not leave the territory.
Fortune coins and loose checks
Air traffic is greatly reduced. But to continue to fly their remaining planes, the Russian companies are doing with the means at hand. Devices nailed to the ground are dismantled little by little to collect spare parts. Russia also finds suppliers in allied countries, such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, who agree to sell ordinary parts under embargo, or even second-hand. Russian companies are also finding new solutions for overhauls: recently, Aeroflot sent an Airbus A330 to Iran to be checked.
>> Ukraine: sanctions against Russia are “not a sudden death” but “a strangulation”, according to the IMF
Proekt also reveals that all these arrangements do not meet the usual security standards. The maintenance books are no longer filled out as rigorously as before. It is now tolerated that planes fly with defective systems, which previously would have been immediately repaired. The media also reports repeated breakdowns. A Boeing 737, for example, began to lose fuel before taking off in Kazan. A recurring problem on the device in question.
Aeronautics nevertheless remains a sector where the security systems are particularly reinforced, and the planes which circulate in Russia are generally recent. Russian companies therefore have a substantial safety margin, but are gradually eating away at it.