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The Government of Slovakia allowed the landing in Bratislava of a cargo flight operated by the Russian operator Volga-Dnepr Airlines. Allowing the landing of this flight was special one-time permission since the European Union has banned Russian airlines and aircraft from its airspace.

The flight

Volga-Dnepr Airlines is a cargo airline based in Ulyanovsk Vostochny, Russia, with a fleet of 16 aircraft, according to data provided by ch-aviation, including eleven An-124-100 and five IL-76TD airplanes.

On March 1, 2022, a Volga-Dnepr Airlines IL-76 landed in Bratislava, Slovakia, from Moscow. The aircraft traveled through the airspace of Belarus, Poland, and Slovakia. The last two have banned Russian aircraft and airlines from operating in their territories due to Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine.

Volga Dnepr Airlines used an IL-76 aircraft registration RA-76952 (eleven years old) to operate the nearly two hours and a half flight between Moscow and Bratislava.

Why did the flight take place?

Volga’s flight raised some questions. A few days ago, the European Union banned Russian airlines from operating in its airspace. Following that, Russia banned airlines from 36 nations from its airspace.

Nonetheless, as reported by local Slovakian media outlet Rubriky, Slovakia needed this flight by Volga-Dnepr Airlines. Onboard the flight Volga carried nuclear fuel for power plants. It was a flight for the Slovakian Ministry of Economy and was sanctioned by the Polish and Slovakian governments (unlike Aeroflot’s flight 111 on Sunday, which violated the Canadian airspace).

The Slovakian Ministry of Economy said,

“The Ministry of Economy has helped to secure the supply of nuclear fuel that will be used by the Slovakian electric company (SE, or Slovenské Elektrárne). Today (March 1, 2022) at dawn, an IL76 aircraft of Volga Dnepr Airlines landed at Bratislava airport and transported the nuclear fuel from the Russian Federation to us.”

Although the European country had closed its airspace for Russian flights, in this case, following the applicable regulations, the government issued an exception. These exceptions can be used “in the case of humanitarian aid and nuclear fuel,” said the Ministry.

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Volga Dnepr has a fleet of 16 aircraft, including five IL-76. Photo: Volga Dnepr

Will Volga-Dnepr Airlines feel the impact of exiting aircraft?

In March, we will see an exodus of European-registered aircraft from Russia. All European Union-based lessors have until March 28 to terminate existing contracts with Russian airlines as part of the package of sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Some leasing companies have already started repossessing their planes from Russian operators. Pobeda has lost three Boeing 737-800s; a Nordwind Airlines Boeing B777-300(ER) is currently parked at Mexico City International Airport, and at least two Aeroflot planes are parked in Europe and unable to return to Russia.

According to Cirium, Russian airlines operate 833 airliners built in western countries, of which 514 are leased from non-Russian lessors (61.7%). Many of these airplanes will be flying back to their lessors in the coming days.

Nonetheless, Volga Dnepr Airlines will not feel the impact of these repossessions. The airline owns its whole fleet, according to ch-aviation. Still, one of Volga’s subsidiaries, AirBridgeCargo, has an order for six Boeing 777-200F; there could be problems with this order in the future. It wouldn’t be the first issue Volga and AirBridgeCargo face with this order as legal issues raised questions over the delivery in the past.