Russian Airlines Ground Nearly Half of A320neo and A321neo Fleet Due to Sanctions

As of mid-November, Russian airlines have grounded 34 out of 66 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft in their fleets, according to Russian media Kommersant on November 21.

The reason for this decision is the difficulties with maintaining the US-made Pratt & Whitney engines, which are linked to sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine.

S7 Airlines faces the most critical situation, with 31 out of its 39 A320/A321neo jets—aged between three and seven years—out of service. According to two Kommersant sources, S7 plans to conserve engine resources until the next peak travel season, when most of these aircraft could return to operation.

However, two other sources indicated that the engine resources for more than 20 of S7’s Airbus jets are nearly exhausted.

In addition to S7’s fleet, there are 27 more A320/A321neo aircraft in Russia, most equipped with Leap engines made in France. The maintenance challenges with these engines are reportedly less severe than with Pratt & Whitney’s.

Industry insiders predict that, without repairs in Russia, Airbus planes will begin to be retired from service en masse starting around 2026. Currently, the A320/A321neo models account for about 10% of Russia’s foreign-made long-haul aircraft fleet.

It was previously reported that the European Union is in the process of drafting a new set of sanctions aimed at targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers, which Moscow uses to bypass restrictions and sell its oil on the global market.