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Sanctions Ground Over a Third of Russia’s Long-Haul Passenger Planes
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Due to parts shortages caused by Western sanctions, over a third of Russia’s long-haul aircraft are out of service, The Moscow Times reported on February 24, citing Russian state media.
The country currently has 93 foreign-made wide-body passenger planes, but fewer than 60 are operational. The rest are either undergoing prolonged maintenance or are idle.
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The shortage of engines and parts for these aircraft is exacerbated by the fact that they account for only about 16% of the global fleet, making them both harder to source and more expensive.
Despite attempts to repair engines in Iran, where aircraft landing gear is now being fixed, progress has been limited. To address the issue, Russia’s largest airline, Aeroflot, has expanded its wet lease agreement with iFly, adding a fourth Airbus A330 to compensate for the grounded planes. Aeroflot’s fleet of 59 wide-body aircraft includes 17 under maintenance, with some grounded for over a year, The Moscow Times wrote.
Other Russian airlines are facing similar issues: AzurAir operates six out of 11 long-haul aircraft, while Severny Veter operates two out of nine, and Utair uses one of three. RedWing flies one B-777 out of three, and iFly’s two A330s are grounded due to technical issues.
The Russia’s Ministry of Transport had previously predicted a reduction in Russia’s fleet of foreign-made long-haul aircraft to 52 by 2030. However, current numbers are already close to these projections. Russian carriers are now pinning their hopes on the delivery of domestic Il-96-300 planes, with production set to reach 14 by 2030, according to The Moscow Times.
However, recent delays have pushed the delivery date to 2035, and the overall production target has been increased to 23 planes.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia’s civil aviation sector was turning to stored aircraft from previous decades to maintain passenger capacity amid a continued shortfall in new domestically produced airliners.
According to reports, twelve previously mothballed aircraft—including nine Tupolev Tu‑204 and Tu‑214 models, one Antonov An‑148, and two Ilyushin Il‑96 jets—were being restored for commercial service.
The reactivation process began in 2022, and as of early 2026, ten of the aircraft have reportedly returned to operational status. Among the receiving carriers is Red Wings, which has operated older Tu‑204 aircraft in recent years.
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