RBC: flights in Primorye were reduced due to difficulties with engine repairs

Flights in Primorsky Krai have been reduced due to difficulties associated with servicing the engines of Canadian DHC-6 aircraft amid Western sanctions, informed RBC with reference to a letter from the regional Minister of Transport and Roads Oleksiy Ignatenko to the Ministry for the Development of the Far East.

As follows from the document, the Primorsky Territory authorities warned that in 2023 the engines of three Canadian DHC-6 aircraft would “run out of service”. It is specified that the Far Eastern airline Aurora performs air transportation within the region on them.

Yevgeny Timonov, Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Facilities of the Primorsky Territory, said that the number of air transportation on the above-mentioned aircraft has halved. In a letter, Ignatenko wrote that in order to provide routes in the regions from 2024, six Baikal aircraft manufactured by the Ural Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) are needed. However, according to him, it was possible to agree on a schedule for the delivery of five such aircraft “only by 2030.” Timonov added that at the moment the Primorsky Territory authorities are working on finding a foreign company that can service the engines of Canadian DHC-6 aircraft.

Ignatenko’s letter says that the government of Primorye plans to establish a “smooth logistics process” for the acquisition of the necessary components and spare parts for the maintenance of DHC-6 aircraft. According to Timonov, despite the reduction in flights on the DHC-6, transport links with the settlements where the planes used to fly are provided with developed bus and rail links. He promised to return in 2024 the “familiar and comfortable” flight program for the inhabitants of the Primorsky Territory on the DHC-6.

October 25, 2022 Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation prepared a draft document that allows you to replace parts of foreign aircraft with non-original ones. Changes were proposed to be made to the current government decree of March 12, 2022. The authors of the amendments believe that the launch of domestic production of some foreign parts and their certification will take a significant amount of time, “which exceeds the operating time of many components.”

In addition, the Ministry of Transport offered to repair aircraft according to the documentation developed by organizations of countries recognized as leaders in the global aviation community. It was assumed that all these measures would “guarantee the smooth functioning of civil aviation and ensure flight safety.”