Aeroflot’s need to maintain its Boeing and Airbus fleets while Russia remains subject to sanctions imposed for its invasion of Ukraine has prompted the transfer of the airline’s production facilities and human resources to MRO provider A-Technics, underscoring the country’s intention to retain possession of the Western-owned airplanes for the long term. The Russian flag carrier began the process of transferring line stations, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance facilities, and component MRO in July, a month after A-Technics obtained a certificate for design and manufacture from Russian aviation regulator Rosaviatsiya.
In late September, Russian authorities extended the certificate, allowing A-Technics to design and authorize documentation for the structural repair of Western-built aircraft. Components in question include air conditioning systems, lighting equipment, windows, doors, braking devices, thrust reversers, fuselage skins, and fairings. The company also gained approval for developing documentation for production and modifications of Level III components such as parts of galleys, passenger cabins, and flight decks.
“To ensure further sustainable sovereignty in continued airworthiness of the active aircraft fleet in the situation of Western OEMs being unable to provide support to Russian operators, Aeroflot will proceed with building its own competencies in developing design solutions for aircraft,” the airline said in a statement. “It intends to create a national center of competencies, which will support the wide range of customers in operating Western-built aircraft. Aeroflot’s board of directors has approved the creation of a department for developing design solutions and has taken steps towards its certification.”
Apart from the effect on Airbus’s and Boeing’s aftermarket revenue streams, the use of non-authorized parts on the airplanes—which Russia effectively confiscated upon the start of the sanctions—severely compromises the value of the aircraft because it invalidates their airworthiness under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conventions and effectively renders them unusable outside the Russian Federation.
During its general assembly last October, ICAO passed a resolution “strongly condemning” Russia’s infractions of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Specifically, it cited Russia’s move to place the airplanes, most owned by Western lessors and banks, under its own civil aviation register and, in turn, allow for their operation without valid airworthiness certificates.
“The resolution…urgently calls upon the Russian Federation to resolve the issues related to the leased aircraft registered in other contracting states that have been re-registered in the Russian Federation and to prevent the operation of those aircraft without valid certificates of airworthiness, so as to remedy the infractions of Articles 18, 19, 29 and 31 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation,” said ICAO.
Unfortunately for Western interests, no international mechanism exists to monitor or police the whereabouts and production of counterfeit parts, leaving condemnation by ICAO and isolation by the international community as the only measures to penalize Russia, which appears unfazed by the pressure. Airbus, for one, conceded as much in a statement to AIN.
“Airbus continues to monitor sales of genuine parts and provision of services to ensure they are not in violation of sanctions or export control laws,” it said. “However, these sanctions and export control laws can only be enforced in jurisdictions that comply with international laws, resulting in the isolation of regimes targeted by the international community.”
For its part, Boeing said it ceased supporting Russian airlines and maintenance providers early last year. “In early 2022, Boeing suspended providing parts, maintenance, and technical support for customers and maintenance service providers in Russia, which includes A-Technics," it confirmed. "We continue to adhere to U.S. sanctions and global laws and regulations.”