Airbus and Boeing have stopped technical support for Russian airlines

“Airbus has suspended support services for Russian airlines as well as shipments of spare parts to the country. A spokesman for the company quoted Reuters as saying on Wednesday, “Airbus’ engineering center in Russia has suspended all operations of Airbus aircraft in line with the sanctions.”

Boeing announced the same on Tuesday evening as a result of sanctions imposed for the invasion of Ukraine. In Russia, maintenance and technical support, including the supply of spare parts, were suspended.

Airbus stated on its website that more than 340 of its aircraft fly among Russia’s ten airlines.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there is a fleet of more than 700 Western-made aircraft in Russia. In addition, Reuters adds that Russian airlines have ordered 62 new aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.

The announcement of the two giant aircraft manufacturers therefore represents another blow to the Russian aviation sector. Under the new sanctions, leasing companies are canceling aircraft leasing agreements with Russian airlines. Hundreds of planes should be withdrawn from Russia within a month.

Reuters reported that the Russian aviation sector has been heavily dependent on Western suppliers in recent years.

Unlike some Asian companies, Russian Airlines has long been a reliable customer of leasing companies.

But the problem for Russia is that most of the rental companies come from Europe, so they are part of the sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Last year, Russia accounted for six percent of global air traffic, according to aviation consultancy IBA. This is an increase of approximately 2% compared to the year prior to 2019.