Russia decides on countries where it plans to buy aircraft parts to circumvent sanctions

Russia plans to buy aircraft parts from a number of countries in Africa and Asia, where it is possible to do so while bypassing sanctions.

Source: RBC, a Russian news outlet, with reference to a letter from the deputy head of Rosaviatsia (Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency), cited by two sources in the aviation industry

Details: The Association of Air Transport Operators, which includes the largest Russian airlines, proposed to Rosaviatsia to include Indonesia, Ethiopia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Pakistan in the list of countries from which aircraft components can be purchased. 

Rosaviatsia approved the list, but with a warning that it had not previously interacted with the aviation authorities of the requested countries.

The letter clarifies that these countries should be added to expand the capabilities of aircraft repair, including engines. 

"These states and their aviation administrations have high results of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) audits, which indicates that the flight safety system is properly organised there," the hauliers justified.

The reasons for the need to expand the list of countries where Russia is trying to buy aircraft parts are not disclosed.

Earlier, the list of "approved" states included Iran, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Israel, Mexico, Türkiye, India, Brazil, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Thailand, Aruba and South Africa. 

The list of countries was approved by the Russian government on 9 May 2022 in response to the sanctions imposed by the United States, Canada and the European Union against the Russian aviation industry.

Prior to the sanctions, only the so-called airworthiness certificates of the US, EU, Canada, Bermuda and Ireland were recognised in Russia.

Background:

• The sanctions cut Russia off from aircraft maintenance and original spare parts. 
• According to Newsweek, aircraft in Russia have started to break down three times more often in the year since the US and EU sanctions banned the supply of spare parts and technical support for aircraft.
• Since the beginning of 2023, more than 180 cases of in-flight malfunctions have been recorded, while in 2022, there were 60 such incidents.

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