Russia has lost 76 passenger aircraft as a result of sanctions imposed on the country’s aviation industry, according to a statement by Russian Minister of Transport Vitaly Saveliev, as reported by RBC.
“We were taken by surprise by the decision to take away the aircraft. In total, we lost 76 passenger planes that were on technical grounds, serviced abroad, or were preparing for certain flights. They were simply seized,” noted the head of the Ministry of Transport.
Saveliev stated that currently, Russia has a total of 1,302 aircraft, of which 1,167 are passenger airliners.
Earlier, the head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Dmitry Yadrov, announced that Russian airlines would be provided with 1,800 domestic aircraft and helicopters by 2030. Among them, 270 are new medium-haul MC-21 aircraft.
At present, the fleets of the country’s largest airlines are predominantly composed of foreign aircraft. The impact of losing these 76 aircraft will likely pose significant challenges to Russia’s aviation industry and its ability to meet domestic and international travel demands. The sanctions have unexpectedly disrupted the country’s aviation landscape, raising concerns about the industry’s future and the potential economic consequences of these developments.
