Russian planes are not waiting in Turkey – Business – Kommersant

There are early signs that Turkish airports are starting to refuse refueling to aircraft from Russian airlines on the US sanctions list. According to Turkish media, the country has blacklisted 44 aircraft. However, Kommersant was able to confirm only two cases of refusal to refuel, and all the aircraft returned to the Russian Federation. Kommersant’s sources believe that so far the problem is not widespread and will be resolved “in any case,” given the importance of the Russian tourist flow for Turkey. It is possible to create an alternative Turkish service structure, ready to work with the risk of sanctions, or flights with an intermediate landing for refueling in the south of the Russian Federation.

Russian airlines have encountered problems refueling American-made aircraft at Turkish airports. According to According to the Turkish portal Airporthaber, the decision to refuse refueling for aircraft containing more than 25% of US-made components, if they are flying to the Russian Federation or Belarus, was made at the direction of the Turkish Ministry of Commerce on March 14 after a corresponding letter from the US authorities.

Sources of Kommersant in Russian airlines confirmed the existence of the problem and assured that they were working on a solution. However, they did not receive official notifications from the Turkish authorities or partners. According to Airporthaber, a total of 44 aircraft were banned, including 15 of Aeroflot. Aeroflot, however, stated that they were flying to Turkish cities “in the normal mode, on schedule, within the declared flight program.” In S7 they say the same.

Two of the five S7 aircraft on the list returned safely from Antalya and Istanbul on 16 March. On the same day, judging by Flightradar24, Boeing-777 “Icarus” (PegasFly) had to be redirected from Istanbul for refueling in Sochi, after which the plane continued its flight to Moscow. Also on March 14, two Aeroflot aircraft from the list flew to Istanbul from St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg and returned without making intermediate stops for refueling. Other Aeroflot aircraft from the Airporthaber list, judging by Flightradar24, do not fly and have not flown to Turkey.

In total, the US sanctions list, which was last updated in August 2022, includes 183 aircraft of Russian airlines. Mostly Boeing, but there is also some Airbus, since these European-made aircraft are powered by American GE engines. We are talking about the Boeing of Aeroflot (39), Pobeda (21) and Rossiya (18), as well as a significant number of aircraft Azur Air (16), S7 (13), Nordwind (11) and Ural Airlines » (8), as well as about 1-3 aircraft of other companies.

As early as January 31, Turkey’s largest handling company Havas, as Turkish media reported, informed Russian counterparties that it could stop operations with aircraft that were on the US sanctions list. However, so far this has not had any effect on the flights of Russian companies to Turkey and their plans to increase communication: for example, on March 13, Aeroflot announced its intention to open direct flights to Antalya from Samara, Nizhny Novgorod and Ufa at the end of April.

Sources of Kommersant in the tourism market are still unaware of specific problems: they believe that we are talking about the failures of individual handling companies: “Three to five such structures operate at each airport in Turkey, and one of them will probably continue to provide services.”

If not, then charters will continue to fly with refueling in Sochi, or “explore the possibility of refueling aircraft with a round-trip calculation,” a representative of one of the tour operators believes. A Kommersant source in the aviation industry believes that “if the problem is confirmed and worsened,” the carriers will be able to agree on the creation of a “new independent tanker” in Turkey: such a possibility, according to him, has already been discussed.

It is impossible to use a Russian legal entity to work at local airports, but there is a high probability of agreeing with the Turkish side on the creation of a joint venture with one of the local players, Oleg Panteleev, executive director of Aviaport, agrees: “Perhaps even specially created to work with sanctions risks” .

The risks of flights with intermediate landings, in his opinion, may arise in the summer season, when the airport in Sochi will be as busy as possible “and it will not be easy to refuel quickly.” In any case, the expert believes, Turkey is interested in the flow of tourists: “If the country does not provide comfortable conditions for Russian carriers, it will shoot itself in the foot.” Mr. Panteleev considers the possibility of granting Turkish airlines the right under exceptional conditions to carry tourists to the Russian Federation unlikely.

Aigul Abdullina