In Kamchatka, after Komi, flights on Czech planes were stopped

Since September, flights on Czech twin-engine L-410 aircraft (up to 19 seats) have been suspended in the Kamchatka Territory due to a shortage of spare parts, writes RBC with reference to the local government and the unified Far Eastern airline “Aurora”.

At the beginning of the year, a similar decision was made by the Komiaviatrans company, which operates flights on socially significant routes in Komi.

As the newspaper notes, three L-410s arrived in Kamchatka in 2010-2011. and flew to five remote and sparsely populated villages. The stoppage of their operation is connected with the “end of resources” of some components and assemblies of aircraft and the difficulties with deliveries through parallel imports. Aurora said that the L-410 will be replaced with other vehicles from the fleet of the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, so the transport accessibility of settlements will not be affected. The air carrier explained that the operation of the aircraft was suspended until the issue with the supply of spare parts is resolved.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in turn, said that Russian enterprises organized the supply of carriers with the necessary equipment and spare parts for the L-410, so the operators who have concluded the relevant agreements “receive the requested positions in full.”

In total, seven commercial L-410 operators remain in Russia, with 28 aircraft in their fleets.

In June RBC reported that Russian regional airlines started reduce flights on the L-410 due to a shortage of spare parts. The working group “Development of Air Transportation and Regional Airports” of the State Council Commission in the direction of “transport” in the spring recommended the authorities of the regions where such aircraft are used to take measures by the end of the year to maintain transport accessibility of the population, including using other modes of transport.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade then indicated that there were no insurmountable problems with the operation of the L-410, since all the necessary spare parts are available using the parallel import mechanism.

Against the backdrop of the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Western countries have imposed sanctions against the Russian aviation industry, including a complete ban on the supply of aircraft (including Boeing and Airbus aircraft) and components. Aircraft insurance and maintenance were also banned, and foreign leasing companies began to recall aircraft already delivered.

In February, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Alexander Neradko, stressed that the restrictions did not affect flight safety in the Russian Federation. Earlier, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev also called for no doubts about flight safety. According to him, in Russia “there is a whole range of spare parts”, so “so far there is nothing to fear.”