The guardian is looking for Russian aircraft buyers at Maastricht airport

A conservator is desperately looking for a new owner for four Russian aircraft at Maastricht Aachen Airport. The Russian owner went bankrupt as a result of the war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions.

The airbuses have been at the aircraft maintenance company Samco in Beek, near Maastricht Aachen Airport, since 2019. They were initially there waiting for a customer, says company director Constant van Schaik . “The airline that was going to fly the aircraft decided against it. So a new customer was sought. In the meantime, they were with us, which happens more often by plane.”

It always takes a while to find a new customer, says Van Schaik. But in this case, the owner went bankrupt before the planes were back in the air. So they stayed longer in Beek. The owner went bankrupt as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. “As a result of sanctions that were put in place, the planes were no longer allowed to leave our parking lot,” said Van Schaik. “And they were no longer allowed to have a Russian owner.”

The devices were shipped out of Russia through an Irish custodian. The conservator now owns the tools and is looking for a buyer. Interested parties can bid on the tools, says Van Schaik. “But all that goes through Ireland, we at Samco have nothing to do with that.”

The planes are parked at the Dutch company. The costs of parking fees have increased to more than a million euros, at around 300 euros per machine per day. As the custodian expects to find a buyer soon, he has advanced that amount to Samco. The money from the four planes together will be between 100 and 120 million euros, Van Schaik expects.

So some of that money has already been spent before it arrives. Not only the parking costs, but also the maintenance of the engines and internal systems. “As soon as a buyer is found and the money raised, we can start,” the director told the regional broadcaster. News L1.

All in all, it’s a big job. Van Schaik expects that: it will require between 10,000 and 15,000 working hours per machine. “But we are happy when they left, because we have room for new aircraft.