According to state news agency TASS, sanctions have caused the Russian aviation industry to malfunction, and President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday allowing foreign-owned aircraft to be re-registered for use in Russia. ..
Russian airlines can seize and operate aircraft leased by companies that no longer operate domestically due to sanctions imposed by the invasion of Ukraine, according to TASS reports.
Russian airlines lease about 780 jets, of which 515 are leased from abroad.
The new law, which is part of Russia’s measures to counter sanctions, states that it aims to “ensure uninterrupted functioning in the field of civil aviation.”
TASS reported that the aircraft will be certified using a certification center and laboratory.
The bill upset global leasing companies a few days before the March 28 deadline to reclaim $ 10 billion worth of aircraft as a result of Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ..
It said that Bermuda and Ireland, where virtually all foreign leased jets operating in Russia are registered, have suspended their airworthiness certificates because they are no longer confident that they are safe. Later.
Re-registering jets in Russia aims to keep jets flying domestically by granting access to new safety permits.
However, adding Russia as a second host country could conflict with international rules prohibiting the registration of commercial aircraft in multiple countries at once.
Unless Western lenders agree to Russia’s request to release jets from foreign registries while struggling to regain control of their assets, the new policy will also be the way to a major contractual debate. Open.
“It is illegal to register an aircraft without proof of deregistration from a previous registration and the consent of the owner. This will be the default under a lease agreement,” said aviation consultant Bertland Grabowski. rice field.
The The Wall Street Journal Note that the law is likely to have limited effect, as sanctions prohibit the maintenance, renewal, support, or supply of spare parts for aircraft. Passengers can be at risk because modern airliners require a high degree of maintenance.
The Russian Federation Aviation Agency said that as of February 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, 776 aircraft were registered abroad. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” its neighbors. Ukraine and the West claim that this is a false excuse to justify the aggression.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist and currently a news reporter for The Epoch Times. She holds a Master’s degree in Newspaper Journalism from City University of London.