Has Russia lifted its ban on the Boeing 737 MAX? Despite there being some uncertainty regarding the actual decision, according to information from the Belarusian Ministry of Transport this morning, this seems to be the case. However, only if the aircraft belongs to an airline from a "friendly" country. One such "friend" is, of course, Belarus, whose flag carrier Belavia operated a 737 MAX flight from Minsk (MSQ) to Tbilisi (TBS), Georgia, through Russian airspace on Wednesday.
Flying wide around the war zone
Flight B2735 was operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with registration number EW-528PA, which kept a wide berth around the northeastern Ukrainian border. A second return flight to Georgia through Russia was carried out by the same aircraft on Thursday, this time from Minsk to Kutaisi (KUT). Again, it took the long way around, passing into the airspace of Kazakhstan. It is the only 737 MAX in Belavia's fleet.
Official statement - but only from neighboring authorities
There has been no official statement from the Russian aviation authorities on allowing the Boeing 737 MAX back in the air. Meanwhile, on Thursday, July 21 at 08:37, the Belarusian Ministry of Transport published a notice on its Telegram channel stating that,
"Russia has allowed 737 MAX flights. The first aircraft is that of Belavia, operating a flight from Minsk to Tbilisi. The ban remains in effect for countries included on the list of unfriendly states. The corresponding notification (NOTAM) was published by the Aeronautical Information Center."
Russian state-run media agency TASS has shared the Belarusian statement but has surprisingly no further information from domestic authorities. As the geopolitical situation stands, it is not easy to acquire a straight answer from Rosaviatsia, the Russian civil aviation authority.
Boeing is also not providing much information on the matter, although, given resentment over current sanctions, it is highly probable that Russian authorities are not communicating much with the planemaker. A spokesperson for Boeing shared the following,
"We will defer to the regulator for any information about this. Since Nov 2020, more than 190 out of 195 countries have opened their airspace to the 737 MAX."
That Russia has indeed allowed select 737 MAX flights in its airspace is a fact. However, until we receive an official confirmation, we cannot say with certainty that it has been ungrounded across the board. The two MAX 8 aircraft belonging to Russian private airline S7 remain parked in Novosibirsk and have not even performed maintenance flights since 2019.
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Who else could fly it?
As Russia only has two 737 MAXs of its own, it is of no major consequence to domestic traffic whether or not it chooses to unground the jet. However, Middle Eastern major MAX operator flydubai, currently operating flights between Dubai (DXB) and Moscow's Vnukovo (VKO) with its 737-800s, would probably be glad of the inclusion.
The UAE has not directly sanctioned Russia, and flights have continued to operate between the two countries. Russia's current list of "unfriendly states" comprises 48 countries and territories, all "Western" apart from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Micronesia.
We will continue to monitor the situation with Russia's ungrounding of the MAX and provide you with an update as soon as we know more.
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