Airlines can receive money from the National Welfare Fund to buy Western aircraft

Airlines «Aeroflot“,”Ural Airlines” and iFly have previously agreed with the Ministry of Transport on the allocation of funds from the National Welfare Fund for the purchase of aircraft from Western lessors. About it informs Kommersant, citing a source in the Ministry of Transport.

According to the interlocutor, a meeting devoted to this issue was held at the end of last week. As a result, Aeroflot agreed to purchase 18 aircraft from the Irish AerCap, Ural Airlines – 19 aircraft from various owners, iFly – three Airbus A330s from the American Air Lease Corporation. The source clarified that “an extremely delicate process of approvals” continues.

The purchase of foreign aircraft will allow them to be removed from the registers of Bermuda and Ireland, which means that these liners will be able to fly abroad, Kommersant notes. As of the end of June 2023, Russian airlines used 475 aircraft registered in the Bermuda Registry.

According to the source, S7 also does not plan to “give up the possibility of state funding.” The interlocutor explained that the airline entered the approval process “earlier than the rest”, but is still in it. He clarified that S7 is preparing applications for submission to the commissions of the Ministry of Transport and the government. According to the newspaper, Utair was able to agree on the re-registration of nine Boeings and decided to raise funds for their redemption on their own.

According to Kommersant, many airlines were initially embarrassed by the fact that the aircraft would be issued to the leasing company NLK-Finance, controlled by the Federal Air Transport Agency. The terms of the lease are still unknown, the newspaper notes. A source in the Ministry of Transport also said that airlines have not yet been familiarized with the draft resolution that would regulate the distribution of funds, the procedure for payments or the right to use aircraft. Now such a document exists only for transactions with the Aeroflot fleet, the source said.

Another source close to the Ministry of Transport said that the draft agreements with NLK-Finance would be worked out after solving the “primary task – determining the procedure for co-financing transactions from state funds.”

In July, Kommersant wrotethat Russian airlines may not have time to buy aircraft from foreign leasing due to the fact that the Ministry of Transport did not determine 300 billion rubles. concessional financing from the NWF. At the time, the publication claimed that at least five airlines had already received approval for insurance settlements with Western aircraft owners. It was about 80-90 aircraft, including 47 from Aeroflot.

On the allocation of 300 billion rubles. for the purchase of aircraft leased by Russian airlines from foreign lessors, said in March the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev. At the same time, he clarified that part of these funds had already been used by Aeroflot to buy out 10 long-haul aircraft (AC). Kommersant admitted that no more than 100 billion rubles could be available now. from the FNB for the purchase of foreign liners.