Sanctions lead two Siberian airlines to request legal service life of aircraft be extended

Two Russian airlines have requested government permission to extend the maximum service period for their Antonov aircraft beyond the current limit of 60 years.

When making the request, Angara Airlines and Polar Airlines, both of which are based in Siberia, argued that they were unable to obtain replacement aircraft due to Western sanctions, Reuters reported.

The General Director of Angara Airlines, Sergei Zorin, estimated that his company used about 100 AN-24 and AN-26 aircraft, with an average age of 50 years. Under the current rules many of those aircraft are due to be decommissioned later this year.

Designed in the 1950s, twin turboprop A-24s, sometimes referred to as “flying tractors”, are especially useful in Siberia as they can land on snow or tundra in places without runways. No new Antonov planes have been made in at least 10 years, however.

“There are no alternatives to Antonov planes,” Zorin said, warning that unless the rules were changed, a quarter of Angara’s Antonov aircraft would have to be mothballed by 2030.

The leasing of aircraft and sale of spare aeroplane parts by foreign manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus are both banned under sanctions on Russia, leading to rising concerns about aircraft safety.

Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said it was considering extending the service life of the aircraft until new Russian-made models were made to replace them.