Sanctions failed to stop Russian flights, flights to Turkey increased
After the Ukrainian war, an unprecedented number of sanctions were imposed against Russia, while one of the objectives was to collapse the Russian civil aviation industry, but the desired was not achieved.
In the news published in the Bloomberg agency with the headline “Russian airlines continue to fly high despite sanctions”, it was stated that the sanctions imposed by the countries of the Western alliance, led by the US, due to the Ukrainian war, however, did not produce the desired result.
The French firm Airbus and the American Boeing suspended their technical activities in Russia after the start of the war. Western companies also asked Russian airlines to return the planes they leased, but the Kremlin banned the return of foreign-leased planes to keep the aviation industry alive.
The United States considers the Boeing planes in the hands of the Russians “stolen.”
467 BOEING AND AIRBUS IN THE AIR
According to Cirium data, although the number of Boeing and Airbus-brand aircraft used by Russian airlines, which was 544 before the war, fell to 467 today, the drop was not as severe as the West hoped.
Although the number of daily domestic flights in Russia has decreased by 15 percent compared to the pre-war period, it continues to reach 1,100.
Bloomberg wrote that the decline in the number of flights fell well short of the sanctions target, and that Russian airlines managed to circumvent sanctions and international rules.
FLIGHTS TO TURKEY INCREASE
While Russia has banned airlines from flying to the US, the European Union and some other Western alliance countries, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Turkey, are among the countries where the number of flights has decreased. increase.
According to Cirium data, there were 300 daily flights from abroad to Russian airports before the war. This number is currently at the level of about 270 flights. Despite the regression, the isolation desired by the West has not been realized.
On the other hand, it was emphasized in the news that critical software updates could not be carried out, which are mandatory for flight safety, and maintenance services could not be provided on these aircraft.
The US-based Boeing company had stopped providing parts and other services to airlines or maintenance companies in Russia under the sanctions. Airbus also announced that they are not in contact with Russian companies.
‘FRIENDLY’ COUNTRIES IN ACTION
On the other hand, Russia’s civil aviation authority claimed that Russian airlines supply parts from “friendly” countries and transfer aircraft parts from one plane to another for further work, and that the necessary inspections were carried out.
Although Western experts say that Russian aviation companies will face bigger problems due to sanctions over time, the Russian government aims to increase domestic production in the aviation sector.
Russia has aircraft manufacturers such as Tupolev, Ilyushin, and Sukhoi that were established during the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), but after the collapse of the USSR, the aviation industry became increasingly dependent on the West.
US PRESSURE ON TURKEY
After the war, Turkey did not participate in the sanctions and although it provided military hardware support to Ukraine, it sought to increase its economic relations with Russia.
The United States, on the other hand, is putting pressure on Turkey to reduce its economic relations with Russia.
In the news published in the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal on January 26, 2023, it was claimed that the US administration warned Turkey not to provide service and technical support to US-made Russian airliners in Turkish airports.
It was claimed in the news that senior US officials warned in December 2022 that Turkish individuals or institutions violating the sanctions would face practices such as fines and imprisonment or loss of export privileges.