Russia complains to ICAO about sanctions against Russian aviation

Russia has filed a complaint to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) about violations of air traffic rules by Western countries.

Source: TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, with reference to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on 11 October

Details: The ban Russia is complaining about includes the ban on the use of airspace for aircraft owned by Russian airlines, the supply of aircraft and spare parts for them and the maintenance and provision of aircraft insurance services. In addition, the Russian aircraft is being detained abroad, and they have no access to meteorological information for air navigation.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that 37 states, including the United States, Canada, the UK and all EU members, are defendants.

Background:

ICAO is a specialised agency within the United Nations. It was established as a result of the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation in Chicago on 7 December 1944.

After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, large-scale sanctions were imposed on the Russian aviation industry, which closed the airspace over many countries to Russian aircraft.

However, the sanctions have had a more sensitive impact on the state of the aviation industry. In 2023, it became dangerous to fly Russian planes, as aviation incidents occurred on a regular basis. 

Russian airlines fly mostly Airbus and Boeing aircraft, which are banned from doing business in Russia. More than 40% of these aircraft belonged to foreign leasing companies that did not receive their property back after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Most of the aircraft continue to fly, although they are cut off from important software updates and maintenance required to ensure their airworthiness.

At the same time, Russia has begun to conceal aircraft malfunctions.

In particular, the Russian airline Aeroflot has issued an internal regulation requiring senior flight attendants to enter data on technical failures and malfunctions of cabin equipment in the Cabin Log Book only after approval by the aircraft commander. The same practice is common in other airlines.

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