On the morning of January 27, two planes of Russia’s largest private airline, S7 Airlines, were unable to take off due to engine failure caused by improper maintenance under sanctions.
This was reported by Aviatorshchina, a resource for Russian civil aviation.
According to the resource, on the morning of January 27, an S7 Airlines plane with 160 passengers on board was scheduled to depart Ulan-Ude for Moscow. The Boeing 737-800 (RA-73665) taxied to the runway and began to take off, but a few seconds before takeoff, the pilots aborted the takeoff. The pilot-in-command reported that the left and right engines were pumping.
It is noted that this is the second case of engine failure on this aircraft: On December 8, the plane returned to Novosibirsk airport immediately after departure due to the pumping of both engines.
The same morning, another S7 Airlines plane was unable to take off due to a pump failure. At Domodedovo Airport, an S7 Boeing 737-800 (RA-73411) aborted takeoff due to a first-engine failure. The plane pulled into the parking lot on its own. He was supposed to fly to Antalya.
Sanctions against the aviation industry of the Russian Federation
Tough sanctions were imposed on Russia’s aviation industry in 2022: most world powers closed their skies to aircraft, and lessors, mainly from Ireland and Bermuda, demanded that all aircraft be returned to their owners. These aircraft were also deprived of their flight safety certificates. In an attempt to circumvent the restrictions, Russia has actually pirated the aircraft and is hastily re-registering them in its registry and introducing domestic flight service systems. However, this did not save us from the impact of sanctions. Russian airlines can fly within the country and to several “friendly” countries, but only as long as the aircraft are in good technical condition, as foreign companies do not provide them with repairs or spare parts. Leading aircraft manufacturers, including the American Boeing and French Airbus, also joined the sanctions.
At the end of July 2022, Iran signed an agreement with Russia under which it will repair Russian aircraft and supply parts for them.
In September 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued a “red flag” to Russia, indicating serious problems in the field of civil aviation safety.
Also, Russia was not re-elected as a member of the ICAO governing council at the UN, and on October 4, 2022, it was finally expelled from the governing bodies of this most authoritative structure in the industry.
Since the end of 2022, incidents with passenger aircraft have become more frequent in Russia. The sanctions led to numerous malfunctions and accidents.
In June 2023, it became known that domestic air travel in Russia had risen by almost a third due to sanctions and restrictions on subsidies.
In late August, the United States imposed new sanctions on airlines from Russia. The Ministry of Commerce has added to the sanctions list aircraft of Russian companies engaged in business transportation.
In the fall of 2023, Russia was disconnected from the Swiss SITA system, which accounts for about 90% of the civil aviation market and is used to exchange information, including between airlines and airports.
In October, it became known that S7 Airlines decided to cut its fall and winter schedule due to problems with the repair of engines installed on Airbus A320 and A320/A321neo aircraft. At the time, 21 of the company’s aircraft (20% of the fleet) were idle, including 13 of the 39 neo family aircraft. Sources in the Ministry of Transportation explained this by problems with the GTF engines installed on the aircraft, made by the American company Pratt & Whitney, which are not repaired either in Russia or in “friendly” countries.
Russian media reported that 11 incidents had already occurred with Russian Airlines planes in the first 8 days of December, the last two of which took place on December 8.
In late December, it was reported that Russia has allocated more than $12 billion in government subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector alive after Western sanctions made it impossible to supply key spare parts and maintenance services.
On January 15, it was reported that the Russian aviation authorities banned two major airlines, Aeroflot and Rossiya, from flying to Egypt because of the risk of arresting 27 Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
