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Airbus and Boeing to halt supply of aircraft parts to Russia.
Boeing and Airbus have stopped providing support services to Russian airlines in response to international sanctions levied by the US and EU.
On Tuesday evening, Boeing said it was suspending parts, maintenance and technical support to Russia following its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
“As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region,” a Boeing spokesperson said.
The very next day, Airbus said it would stop supporting companies such as Aeroflot, the Russian flag carrier, which operates flights on a number of Airbus models including the A320, the A330, and the A350.
“In line with international sanctions now in place, Airbus has suspended support services to Russian airlines, as well as the supply of spare parts to the country,” the European manufacturing company said in a statement.
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Russia accounted for 6% of airline capacity in 2021, according to consultants IBA.
Its airlines have a total of 332 Boeing and 304 Airbus jets, or about two thirds of Russia’s fleet, Cirium Fleets data shows.
Planes owned by Russian airlines will continue to be flown domestically while they have sufficient parts in stock, but carriers may have trouble getting jets serviced abroad.
Even where parts can be found outside the country, airlines face potential payment difficulties after some Russian banks were barred from the SWIFT international payments system.
In addition to the suspension of support services, Western leasing firms will attempt to repossess jets operated by Russian carriers, with 515 planes leased from foreign companies.
However, they may face difficulty in getting their hands on these planes, as analysts predict leased jets will likely be cannibalised to keep others flying.
Peter Walter, of the industry consultant IBA, told Reuters: “Because parts are limited, we will expect to see aircraft that are on the ground in Russia being robbed in order to keep the remainder of the fleet operational.”
