Due to the sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian airlines are no longer supplied with aircraft and parts, and the machines are no longer serviced by European and American manufacturers and service providers.

In early April 2023, the Russian business and financial portal RBC reported that an Airbus A330 aircraft would be sent to Iran for the first time for chassis repairs. This decision did not come as a surprise, since in Iran the Russian airline does not have to wait for the plane to be held up for maintenance.

This is due to the fact that Aeroflot A330 aircraft have a “dual registration”. Russian airlines have already re-registered hundreds of passenger aircraft. The planes come from Western airline leasing companies that were forced to terminate their leases with Russian airlines due to sanctions. Consequently, these are aircraft that are still officially registered abroad, but transferred to the Russian registry without the consent of the owners. The states of the EU and the USA are obliged not only to refuse to repair and refuel such aircraft, but also to detain them.

What can Iran gain from this?

Tehran has extensive experience in circumventing sanctions. In addition, Iran also has Airbus aircraft and spare parts that Aeroflot needs. However, experts have not been able to understand their origin for many years. “There are no legitimate suppliers through which Iran could obtain original parts,” Airbus spokesman Justin Dubon told DW. Observers do not rule out that Iran receives parts through “parallel imports” or from the black market, which can be produced in China or India.

Iran can produce some components itself, but it has nothing to offer Russia, since the Iranian air fleet is not in the best condition. In addition, by the end of 2021, the Iranian Airways Union itself said that about half of the aircraft in the country were stopped due to the lack of necessary spare parts.

It is too early to say whether Russian aircraft will now be regularly serviced in Iran. A source in Aeroflot told RBC that they would have to wait for the return of the A330 aircraft. After the repair, a decision will be made on the possibility of sending additional aircraft to Iran.

How about flight safety?

“If the plane is airworthy, what difference does it make where it was repaired? I doubt there is anything special about renovations in Iran. I think the technical staff is quite professional,” a former Russian airline pilot, who requested anonymity, told DW. He left Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine and is now working abroad.

However, Western sanctions have significantly affected Russian aviation. As the pilot explains, due to technical risks, many of his colleagues refused to fly during the pandemic and therefore lost their jobs. Therefore, the remaining pilots will continue flying so as not to endanger their positions. However, a source in the leadership of the Russian airline admitted to DW that “it was safe to fly to Russia only in the first year after the imposition of sanctions.”

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus does not want to assess the risks of servicing Aeroflot aircraft in Iran. The company representative only said that each original part is given a serial number so that the company can trace it. However, it is not possible to check spare parts of non-original origin, as well as services performed in non-certified centers.

What alternatives does Russia have?

As for parts, Russia can dismantle existing aircraft or use non-certified parts from Turkey or China. “Of course, then there will be more unsuccessful repairs and not a single pilot will agree to fly. You can’t drive a car without wheels, just like you can’t fly without certain systems. And if you break all the rules, you don’t know what the consequences will be, ”said the ex-pilot of Russia.

According to him, a serious problem is the lack of software updates for aircraft. This may soon become critical for Russian airlines. “If the navigation database is two to three months behind, it’s not that important. However, the routes may change later, and no country will allow aircraft without updated software to fly in its airspace, not even China.”

As for Aeroflot’s A330 aircraft, it already describes it as “dead”. Russia is not interested in either certification or the place of repair. Such planes could no longer be resold anyway. “They will only be used in the domestic market until their useful life expires or possibly they are shipped back to Iran,” the pilot says.

“Russian” planes will also suffer

Western sanctions also apply to aircraft officially produced in Russia. For example, more than 75% of the components of the Russian “Superjet-100” were purchased from foreign companies. In March 2023, several Russian airlines reported shortages of parts from the US. for a specific type of aircraft, without which it is impossible to continue their operation.

Another Russian type of aircraft, the MS-21, whose entry into service has been postponed until 2025, faces the same problem: the lack of components produced not in Russia, but abroad.

“In my opinion, in the current conditions, Russia has no future. The Russian aviation industry also has no future. Soon we will return to the 90s, when there were many accidents, ”says the former pilot.

Source: DV