Sanctions after the start of the war in Ukraine paralyze Russian aviation and cause an increase in incidents. Also on the national airline Aeroflot.
Detours and legal gray areas don't make it completely impossible, but getting spare parts has become difficult for Russian airlines since the country's attack on Ukraine.
Western sanctions prohibit manufacturers and suppliers from working with Russian companies. Aeroflot clearly feels this in its operations.
The flight is delayed one day because there are no spare parts available
More recently, about 400 travelers wanting to fly from Phuket to Moscow on an Aeroflot Boeing 777-300 ER were affected on January 8. Due to malfunction, replacement parts were necessary.
These had to be flown in from Russia. The flight was delayed for more than a day, according to both the “Moscow Times” and the “Mash” radio station. This is the eighth such incident in five weeks.
Numerous breakdowns that have become a problem since the start of the war.
On December 1, one of the company's Airbus A321 had to make an unscheduled landing due to an air conditioning problem. That same day, a Boeing 737 made an unscheduled landing due to a pressure drop.
Just a day later, one of the airline's Airbus A321s was forced to land after its left engine failed. On December 6, a Boeing 777 had smoke on board due to a short circuit.
Other incidents occurred on December 12 and 18. This continues a trend that has been seen across all Russian airlines since the start of the war.
From the beginning of 2023 to mid-December, more than 180 breakdowns of this type were recorded and in 2022 there were 60 incidents. In addition, there were an average of 55 aircraft breakdowns per year between 2018 and 2022.
Aeroflut problems: Russian aviation is not far from collapse?
In November, a hack claimed by Ukraine received a lot of attention. Internal documents from the Russian aviation authority suggested that the country's aviation was not far from collapse.
Russian airlines have problems mainly with engines and landing gear. But other important elements, such as hydraulic systems, landing flaps and software, would also pose challenges for airlines, Rosaviatsiya wrote in an internal document.