The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has recommended a number of Russian air carriers to suspend international flights.

As explained in a message published on March 5, we are talking about companies that lease aircraft registered abroad.

Such carriers are recommended to stop operating flights to other states from March 6, and from March 8 to suspend flights from abroad to Russia.

“This recommendation is due to the high risk of detention or arrest of aircraft of Russian airlines abroad,” the Federal Air Transport Agency explained.

As noted in the agency, Russian companies have become a tool, and passengers have become hostages of the political struggle “due to unfriendly decisions” of a number of foreign states.

In relation to the industry, restrictions are being introduced that run counter to the provisions of international air law and the basic principles of the Chicago Convention, the Federal Air Transport Agency emphasized.

Recall that on February 21, Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR, and on the 24th he announced the start of a special operation to protect the Donbass republics from aggression from Ukraine.

In response, the European Union, the United States and a number of other countries began to impose anti-Russian restrictions.

The restrictions affected companies and banks of the country, and seven credit institutions were disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging system.

The sanctions also affected the supply of high-tech products to Russia.

Along with this, half of the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank was frozen, the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was canceled, and many Western companies announced the termination of work in the Russian Federation.

At the same time, the European Union, the United States and a number of other countries closed their airspace to Russian aircraft.

At the same time, the EU introduced a complete ban on the supply of new airliners to Russia, as well as on the maintenance and insurance of aircraft in European companies.

Europe also demanded to break the existing aircraft lease agreements.

According to the order, EU leasing organizations will have to withdraw their aircraft from Russia by March 28.

“We prohibit the sale of all aircraft, spare parts and equipment to Russian airlines.

This will lead to the degradation of the key sector of the Russian economy and the country's communications capabilities," said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

According to her, about 75% of the Russian commercial air fleet is built in the European Union, the United States and Canada.

According to the assessment of the British analytical company Cirium, today there are 980 passenger liners in Russia, of which 777 aircraft are leased.

Of these, 515 aircraft are leased by Russian air carriers from foreign companies.

The total cost of this equipment is estimated at almost $10 billion.

At the same time, according to experts, the process of returning aircraft still raises questions.

So, now Russian technology cannot fly in EU airspace.

The ban does not apply to aircraft returned to European lessors, however, the departure of these aircraft from Russia may be difficult due to counter-sanctions imposed by Moscow.

“The Russian side has also closed its airspace to European aircraft.

And this means that as soon as the leasing contract is terminated, the aircraft will cease to be Russian.

Therefore, the sky will be closed for him, he will probably no longer be able to fly out of the Russian Federation, ”the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) noted.

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As Vladimir Karnozov, an analyst with the Commonwealth of Aviation Experts Aviation Explorer, suggested in a conversation with RT, under the current conditions, a special air corridor can be organized to recall aircraft to Europe.

However, in this case, difficulties may arise with the return of small aircraft due to restrictions on the speed and range of flights, the expert noted.

At the same time, even in the event of a successful recall of all aircraft from Russia, European companies will have to seriously increase the cost of maintaining the returned equipment.

Kirill Yankov, a member of the public council under the Ministry of Transport of Russia, shared this opinion with RT.

“Leasing companies are unlikely to be able to sell all these aircraft quickly, given the decline in overall passenger traffic amid the effects of the pandemic and the latest flight restrictions.

Therefore, in the next year or two, no one will need such a large fleet, and the EU leadership will have to allocate subsidies for servicing these aircraft, ”Yankov believes.

Solutions

The Russian Ministry of Transport is already working on possible options for resolving the issue with foreign aircraft.

This was announced on Saturday by Vladimir Putin at a meeting with representatives of the flight crew of the country's airlines.

According to the President, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev "has his own thoughts on this matter."

“In general, I support these considerations.

Let's give him the opportunity to negotiate with partners.

I hope that they will agree on what lies in the zone of their own interests.

But I proceed from the fact that we will fly,” the head of state stressed.

It is noteworthy that even now European leasing companies may have difficulties in obtaining payment for the lease of aircraft by Russian carriers.

Experts explain such risks by the imposed sanctions against Russian banks.

“For aircraft leasing companies, there may be a broader risk associated with their leasing contracts to Russia.

Widespread economic sanctions affecting dollar transactions could affect the ability of air carriers to pay monthly rents and maintain a maintenance fund,” Cirium said.

As Kirill Yankov noted, payment for rent can be made through banks that have not been sanctioned or with the help of intermediaries.

However, it can cost more, the expert believes.

Given all the costs and difficulties that arise, experts interviewed by RT do not exclude that Russia may refuse to return leased aircraft.

“The authorities can either nationalize part of the aircraft forever, or keep them until the end of the special operation.

If necessary, it will be possible to remove some of the parts from this equipment and use it for the repair of other aircraft, ”Vladimir Karnozov suggested.

Reverse effect

It is curious that only the countries of the European Union introduced a ban on the lease of aircraft by Russian companies.

At the same time, the US has so far refrained from such restrictions.

According to Vladimir Karnozov, such a policy of Washington may be associated with the threat of retaliatory measures from Moscow.

“The United States has a more balanced approach to sanctions, as they are afraid of counter restrictions.

For example, Boeing is highly dependent on our supplies of titanium, which is widely used in aircraft construction.

The states want us to suffer economically, but at the same time they are trying not to cause serious damage to their industry and related industries.

This is another element of the geopolitical game,” says Karnozov.

Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, expressed a similar point of view in a RT commentary.

In his opinion, the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU against Russia could cause serious damage to Europe.

“Overall, the US is facing the least casualties so far.

The fact is that the Americans have more financial safety margin and fewer trade ties with Russia than the EU.

Europe in this case is the most losing side.

As a result, she will have to reconsider her ill-conceived actions, which were taken to please teams from across the ocean, ”Aksakov believes.