Rosaviatsia denied plans to return part of foreign aircraft

Statements that airlines will return foreign aircraft to lessors do not correspond to reality, the Federal Air Transport Agency said.Earlier, the HEAD of one of the departments of the department spoke about such plans.

Statements about the plans of Russian airlines to return part of foreign aircraft to lessors do not correspond to reality, according to a statement from the Federal Air Transport Agency received by RBC.

Earlier, on the sidelines of the MRO RUSSIA and CIS aircraft maintenance conference, Valery Kudinov, head of the aircraft airworthiness department of the Federal Air Transport Agency, spoke about such plans. He also said that since the end of February, about 180 aircraft have been registered in the state register, including Aeroflot, Pobeda, UTair, Rossiya and Izhavia. “To date, 176 aircraft are registered [in the Russian register], including 21 UTair aircraft have already received an airworthiness certificate, 38 Rossiya aircraft, two Izhavia aircraft, 27 Pobeda aircraft and 80 Aeroflot aircraft,” said Kudinov (TASS quote). Aeroflot's newest aircraft, the Airbus A350, was also transferred to the register; in total, there were about 70 aircraft in it at the end of February, he added.

The statements made by Kudinov do not correspond to reality, the Federal Air Transport Agency said. “The competence and responsibility of the head of the airworthiness maintenance department of aircraft Kudinov does not include the registration of civil aircraft and he does not have reliable information about the state and maintenance of the state register of civil aircraft in Russia,” the department said.

The Ministry of Transport proposed a way to keep foreign aircraft in Russia Business

It added that Kudinov's statements regarding the relations of airlines with lessors do not correspond to reality. “In accordance with his official duties, Kudinov is not authorized to make official statements on behalf of the Federal Air Transport Agency,” the Rosaviatsia stressed.