The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) has claimed Russian carriers have violated US export sanctions by continuing to operate Boeing aircraft on domestic services.

DOC has followed up by issuing enforcement actions against Aeroflot, Azur Air, and UTair. The enforcement action targets the airlines directly, denying them export privileges.

Speaking to Reuters, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod has said of the enforcement actions,

"Aeroflot, Azur Air and UTair and their fleet of aircraft will over time largely be unable to continue flying either internationally or domestically as they are now cut off from the international support and the U.S. parts and related services they need to maintain and support their fleets."

Boeing suspended usage of Russian-imported titanium for its aircraft production on March 7.

Azur Air, Zagreb, Moscow
Azur Air has since grounded all of its Boeing fleet. Photo: Getty Images

Current Russian fleet

DOC previously issued a notice on March 18 identifying 99 Boeing aircraft that had recently flown into Russia. The statement claimed that the aircraft had violated export regulations and warned against providing unauthorized service to them.

A follow-up notice later that month added 73 aircraft from Alrosa, Nordstar, Pegasus Fly, Pobeda, Rossiya, RoyalFlight, and S7 Airlines. In the updated statement, DOC added,

"Absent authorization, any person anywhere-including within Russia-risks violating the EAR and would be subject to BIS enforcement actions which could include substantial jail time, fines, loss of export privileges, or other restrictions."

US-built aircraft or foreign aircraft using more than 25% controlled US-origin content are subject to license requirements if exported to Russia.

Aeroflot has notably moved towards a more Westernized fleet in the past 30 years, gradually phasing out traditional Russian airliners, with the last TU-154 retired in 2016.

The three airlines currently operate a range of Airbus, ATR, and Russian-built jets alongside various Boeing aircraft.

The current Boeing models in their fleet are:

Aeroflot

  • 37 737-800, 10 parked
  • 22 777-300ER, 7 parked

Azur Air

  • 3 737-800
  • 2 737-900ER
  • 10 757-200
  • 12 767-300ER
  • 6 777-300ER

All are parked

UTair

  • 6 737-400, 1 parked
  • 20 737-500, 4 parked
  • 17 737-800, 10 parked
  • 3 767-200, 1 parked
Aeroflot Parked Airport
Many of the airline's fleet could soon be trapped on the ground. Photo: Getty Images

Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr stated that its subsidiaries, AirBridgeCargo and Atran, have suspended usage of Boeing aircraft due to sanctions.

Return to service

Russia will recommence international flights to 52 “friendly” nations later this week. International routes were suspended back in March following the Bermudan Civil Aviation Authority revoking the Certificates of Airworthiness (CoA) for over 500 Russian-operated aircraft.

Russia has since re-registered hundreds of jets to the country to prevent repossession by foreign lessors and circumvent the CoA ban. It is unclear what jets Russia will use for the renewed international service.

Speaking at the time of the suspension, Rob Stallard, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, addressed the issue to EuroWeekly,

“The Russian aviation sector is now on footing that is similar to North Korea and Iran — and similar to where it was under Soviet rule.”

What do you think of DoC’s decision to effectively ban Russian-owned Boeing aircraft from international services? Let us know in the comments.

Sources: Reuters, EuroWeekly