Although several Russian carriers have started ramping up their international flight schedules, not every airport ground service provider is keen to work with the airlines and their fleets. Turkey's largest ground handling company Havas is one example, as it wrote a letter to Russian and Belarusian airlines warning that it might stop providing ground services to them.
Ground services may be denied
The letter was sent to these airlines - including Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines, S7 Airlines, Utair Airlines, Red Wings, Nordwind, Yamal, and flag carrier Belavia, earlier this week on Tuesday and was signed by Havas General Manager Meter Erna.
In the letter, the warning came that ground handling services are likely to be denied to these airlines' US-made Boeing aircraft. The potential denial of service could also extend to these airlines' European-made Airbus aircraft, as the letter included a list of aircraft that totaled about 170.
As of this time of writing, Havas has yet to make a final decision on whether or not it will choose to withhold aircraft services to Russian and Belarusian airlines. In the meantime, the ground handling company is still in discussions with the airlines to better evaluate the factors affecting the situation.
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Contemplating abiding by the sanctions
As Turkey's biggest ground handling service provider, Havas provides aircraft services at the Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, and Ankara airports, among others within the country. Besides Havas, two other significant Turkish ground handling agents also serve Russian and Belurian airlines across several Turkish airports.
So why would Havas risk losing to immediate competition and warn of the possibility that ground services to these airlines' Boeing and Airbus aircraft may be denied? The unlikely willingness to yield to competition comes from the current Washington-imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus for the Ukraine invasion.
Under the sanctions, providing aircraft maintenance services for Russia, or Belarus-bound aircraft assembled with more than 25% of US-originated technology is illegal. The provision of aircraft refueling services is also strictly prohibited, and anyone caught providing them could be at risk of fines, prison times, and loss of export privileges.
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Denying brings possible complications
Given the underlying pressure to abide by the imposed sanctions, Havas may not be the only Turkish ground service provider to possibly deny Russian and Belarusian airlines any aircraft service. While the airlines could always attempt to switch to other ground handling agents, they might soon be out of options if more Turkish ground service providers follow suit to deny services.
Financial complications are bound to occur if no Turkish ground service providers will aid in any aircraft services to Russian and Belarusian airlines. While switching the aircraft type used is not a viable solution for these airlines, outsourcing or flying in their own ground handling agents is the next best choice.
Unfortunately, either option or any other solution to this potential problem will still prove costly. And bearing the burden of higher costs will be the passengers, as airfare prices between Turkey and these two countries will be significantly increased to cover the extra expenses.
Source: Reuters