An Emirates Airbus A380 was badly damaged in March when a vehicle rammed it in Moscow. Such incidents can be a problem for foreign airlines.
It is no secret that Russian airlines have a problem. Due to Western sanctions, they do not have enough spare parts. This leads to more incidents – but also to them having fewer aircraft available. But the sanctions can also become a problem for foreign airlines.
The “operational and financial risks associated with flying to a heavily sanctioned country like Russia” should not be underestimated, writes Andrew Doyle, who is responsible for monitoring market developments at data provider Cirium, in a Blog entryThis was demonstrated, among other things, at the end of March, when an Emirates Airbus A380 was stranded in Moscow-Domodedovo.
Airbus A380 badly damaged
An airport vehicle had gone out of control and severely damaged the fuselage of the superjumbo below. The jet was grounded for four days before it could be flown empty to Dubai and repaired. Lucky, says Doyle. Because: “This raises the question: how many aircraft registered abroad – and also managed by lessors – are at risk of being stranded in sanctioned countries if they suffer damage that cannot be easily repaired locally?” he writes.
In fact, there are quite a few. In May alone, 155 western-designed passenger and cargo aircraft from airlines in Central and East Asia, the Middle East and Africa flew to Russia. There were 963 visits in total. The planes spent a total of 2,940 hours on the ground in Russia.
Failure can be expensive
Cirium broke it down even further and examined historical data on incidents. Statistically, between two and three wide-body aircraft operated by foreign airlines are likely to be damaged during their stay in Russia every year, they say – and that excludes short- and medium-haul aircraft. The assumption is one incident per 5,000 arrivals.
Airlines and lessors must consider how to deal with these risks. If an aircraft is grounded in Russia due to problems, the breakdown can not only be expensive because the repairs are complicated. Due to the sanctions, airlines also need a special permit if they fly spare parts to Russia themselves. The aircraft will also be out of service and will not be able to carry paying passengers.
Risk also in the case of unscheduled landings
In addition, there are unscheduled landings that may be necessary when flying over Russia. For example, Air India recently had to land a Boeing 777 (VT-ALG) from Delhi to San Francisco on July 18 in Krasnoyarsk after a smoke alarm sounded in the cargo hold. A replacement aircraft picked up the passengers, and the VT-ALG was able to fly back to Mumbai after two days.
A year earlier, on June 6, 2023, another Boeing 777 (VT-ALH) of the airline had to make an unscheduled landing in the Russian city of Magadan due to technical problems. This flight was also headed for San Francisco. The passengers were picked up by another Boeing 777 from Air India on June 8 and taken to their destination on the US west coast. The VT-ALH flew back from Magadan to Mumbai on June 10 without any passengers on board.
