Regional carriers cut flights on Czech light aircraft

Russian regional airlines have begun to reduce flights on Czech twin-engine aircraft Let L-410 Turbolet due to a shortage of spare parts, writes RBC.

The working group “Development of Air Transportation and Regional Airports” of the State Council Commission on “Transport” at a meeting on March 30 warned of a reduction in traffic and an increase in the costs of carriers. The group recommended the authorities of the regions where such aircraft are used to take measures by the end of the year to maintain the transport accessibility of the population, including using other modes of transport.

The airline “Siberian Light Aviation” (“SiLA”) noted that the operators have almost exhausted the reserves of backup engines, propellers and other spare parts. The general director of the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, Alexei Khrabrov, also pointed out problems with the LCD monitors used on the pilots’ dashboard, which is why “the L-410 fleet can stand up.” Due to the lack of spare parts, Komiaviatrans, for example, has already refused to use these aircraft, RBC notes.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in a commentary to RBC, 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. As the publication notes, in Russia there is no analogue of an aircraft of this class (up to 19 seats).

According to Oleg Panteleev, director of the AviaPort branch agency, commercial operation of the L-410 is possible for another two or three years on a downward trend, after which support from the regions will be required for the import of components for parallel imports.

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.”