OREANDA-NEWS Russian airlines are actively using foreign parts for their aircraft, purchasing them in circumvention of sanctions. This conclusion was reached by Reuters journalists who studied customs statistics in the period from May last year to the end of June 2023.

In total, $1.2 billion worth of equipment was delivered, although the data looks understated. After all, companies unrelated to carriers could also buy components abroad, and then sell them domestically.

According to the publication, it is the stable parallel import that explains the absence of visible problems with foreign-made aircraft a year and a half after Russian airlines were denied the maintenance of airliners and the supply of parts. It was possible to import not only such trifles as coffee makers, telephones for flight attendants, toilet seats, but also pressure valves in the cabin, cabin and chassis displays, navigation systems.

Most often, the parts got to Russia through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, China, Kyrgyzstan, which did not support the sanctions and now act as gateways for supplies.

Oleg Panteleev, head of the Moscow aviation analytical center "Aviport", said that in the first months after the sanctions, carriers had a shock, but after two or three months, delivery channels began to appear. By the end of the year, there were enough people willing to sell parts, which even allowed to reduce the cost of purchases.