As Simple Flying has previously reported, Russia has been looking not only to expedite the commercial production of its new narrowbody contender, the Irkut MC-21, but also to potentially boost production of the Ilyushin Il-96 quadjet.Meanwhile, this may not be enough to cover the capacity gap for Russian airlines following the cut-throat sanctions imposed on the country due to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. As such, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is also considering restarting the construction of the passenger Tupolev Тu-214 for commercial purposes.During a visit to the production facilities of the Kazan Aircraft Production Association last week, the country's deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov looked into the possibility of increasing output to at least ten Tu-214s per year. FlightGlobal quoted Mr Borisov,
“The urgent matter is to restore production of domestic models to the quantity required, so that we do not experience difficulties with the transportation of Russian citizens within the country and overseas.”
The Tupolev Tu-214
The Tupolev Tu-204 took its maiden flight 33 years ago, on January 2, 1989, intended as an equivalent of the Boeing 757. However, it did not enter service with flag carrier Aeroflot until 1996. Like the Ilyushin Il-96, the model remains in small-scale production, primarily on behalf of the Russian government.
The Tu-214 is a higher gross weight variant fitted with extra fuel tanks and features an additional full-size main door on the left side of the fuselage just before the wing. Due to its long-range capacity, it is utilized for special mission flights. Tu-204 is produced by Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk and Tu-214 in Kazan.
Staffing issues obstacle to scaling production
Participating in the discussions during the visit of Borisov to Kazan was UAC's General Director, Yuri Sluysar. He told the deputy Prime Minister that the company was ready to revamp production of the aircraft, with the facilities in Kazan having recently gone through modernization.
However, Mr Slyusar acknowledged that one of the main issues would be attracting qualified personnel to support the increased output, a problem previously reported during a hearing in the Duma towards the end of last year.
Sanctions and re-registration of foreign leased aircraft
Sanctions of the EU against Russia include the prohibition of the sale, transfer, supply, or export of aircraft or any of their components to the country. The US has export restrictions that encompass Russia’s aerospace sector.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that allows leased foreign aircraft to be re-registered in Russia. Yesterday, TASS news agency reported, all 125 aircraft of Rossiya Russian Airlines were transferred to Russian registration.
However, to avoid risking foreign-owned aircraft being impounded by lessors outside of the country, the airline would operate only Russian-financed Sukhoi SSJ-100 aircraft on routes outside the country.
Last week, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev also stated that almost 800 of the more than 1,300 available planes had already been transferred to the Russian aviation register.
What do you make of the potential Tu-214 return as a commercial passenger aircraft? Could the problems with finding qualified personnel jeopardize Russia's domestic aviation industry plans? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.
Source: FlightGlobal, TASS