Russia's Future Aircraft Fleet: Anticipated Numbers Revealed

Despite the sanctions, Russian oligarchs are still managing to take their jets for a spin.

Forrás: Forrás: Pixabay

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, Russia has lost a total of 76 airliners due to Western sanctions. The country currently has 1,302 aircraft, with 1,167 of them being passenger planes. According to Vitaly Savelyev, the head of Russia's transport ministry, the country is planning to increase its fleet to 1,800 domestic planes and helicopters for Russian carriers  by 2030. He shared this information with the Moscow-based Russian media group RBC, as reported by the international V4NA news agency.

The decision to seize our planes that were in technical storage or being serviced abroad or about to fly for foreign airlines caught us off guard,

– the transport minister explained. 

Over half of Russia's passenger planes are foreign-made and were leased by Russian airlines. After the outbreak of the war, more than two-thirds of these foreign aircraft in Russia, registered in Bermuda and Ireland, had their airworthiness certificates revoked, rendering them unable to operate. Previously,

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by allowing the registration of foreign aircraft leasing rights in Russia.

Private jets are still allowed to fly anywhere outside of Europe's airspace. The oligarchs, if the want to, will always find a way for private air travel: they can even fly in the EU, for which they must lease a plane in Türkiye. 

Magyar Nemzet has previously reported that Russian-built passenger planes could start carrying passengers as early as next year.

Rostech emphasized that the program is essentially focused on constructing a new aircraft as an import substitute, with all systems and components being Russian-made. However, the time available for the aircraft industry is unprecedentedly short.

Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: Pixabay)