Nine Russian airlines have suspended flights in 2022

Nine Russian airlines have stopped flying, and four have retained their operator certificates in 2022. In most cases, the suspension of flights is connected with sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is reported by Kommersant.

Three certificates were revoked directly due to Western sanctions. Kamchatka Airlines announced the termination of operations due to the impossibility of purchasing three Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft in the United States. SkyGate, which took the third place in terms of the volume of cargo transportation, now operates in Azerbaijan. Petersburg company “Bystrolet” planned to use Hawker Beechcraft jets, but the certificate remained due to the lack of an aircraft. Rostvertol Avia, a subsidiary of Rostec, could not use MI-2 helicopters due to problems with spare parts. In 2022, the certificate of the company “Skol” from Kaliningrad, which is in the stage of bankruptcy, was also left, however, Rosaviatsiya prohibited it from using aircraft in 2021.

Last year, against the backdrop of Western sanctions, the Royal Flight company, business operator Sirius Aero, Atran and AirBridgeCargo cargo companies stopped working, but they keep their certificates.

After cancellation, the operator’s certificate is not restored. In the previous five years, five companies were left with the certificate.

According to Kommersant, there are 114 carriers listed in the Rosaviatsia register, but two-thirds of the passenger traffic is provided by the five largest companies. According to the publication’s source, the situation is not favorable for regional companies that will have to enter the structure of large carriers.

• At the end of February 2022, in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and other countries imposed restrictions on the flights of Russian airlines. The EU and the USA banned the export to Russia of goods and technologies used in the aviation and space sectors, as well as the insurance and maintenance of goods related to these industries.
• At the end of December, the Government of Russia allowed the removal of spare parts from some aircraft to repair others.