ANP
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It has also been called the premier aircraft theft at any time viewed: the hijacking of hundreds of aircraft chartered from Russia. The injury to Western plane leasing providers is monumental: they have misplaced about 10 billion bucks truly worth of aircraft.
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“It is really pure theft,” says emeritus professor of aviation regulation Pablo Mendes de Leon. “But it is at least as bad that this also has implications for passenger security.”
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Russian registration
Airlines ordinarily really don’t individual the overall fleet. They use hired planes which, just like rental automobiles, do not belong to the airline, but to a rental enterprise. About fifty percent of the planes around the world are chartered, usually by Irish or Bermuda businesses.
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A thirty day period following the war in Ukraine began, Western plane rental businesses had to cancel their contracts with Russian airlines because of to sanctions. But about 500 aircraft remained in Russia. The region now considers them Russian-owned and has specified some of the planes a Russian registration so they can be flown. Products presently only do this inside of their own countrywide borders.
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Mendes de Leon defines seizure “devoid of rights” and double registration “entirely no cost of rights”. “It truly is absolutely not authorized less than worldwide legislation,” he claims.
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“As a consequence of this registration adjust, the plane is taken out from the owner’s supervision,” claims Joris Melkert, aviation expert at TU Delft. “And so we no extended know if the aircraft is nicely maintained and if it is secure.”
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Every part of the aircraft have to be registered, Melkert describes:
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“You cannot just get a bolt or nut from the components retail store”
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Due to the sanctions, companies this kind of as Boeing and Airbus are no for a longer time authorized to provide aircraft elements to Russia. And it is really not achievable to preserve planes without the need of components, Melkert points out.
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Russia solves this trouble by “cannibalizing” the planes: some planes stay on the floor and serve as a source for spare parts. That way, the nation can finest survive for a although without the need of exterior supplies, Melkert thinks. “In Iran, the parts could not and continue to simply cannot be provided thanks to the nuclear boycott. They have been traveling there for many years in really old planes, and it continue to is.”
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Complete loss
Russia has returned some aircraft. Between 50 and 100, Melkert estimates. But it remains to be found no matter whether leasing corporations will at any time see the relaxation of the equipment once more.
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“If they get them back, it will choose a prolonged time,” he says. “And if that occurs, what is the state of the plane? It takes a whole lot of time and income to reconstruct the shed upkeep history. The expenses could be increased than the aircraft’s residual price at that stage.”
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