Russian aviation sector faces turbulence as concerns mount over passenger safety

Russia’s aviation industry is facing heavy turbulence, as concerns for passenger safety mount in the face of poor maintenance, a lack of spare parts and regular breakdowns. The sector, heavily reliant on international suppliers, has been among the hardest hit by Western sanctions over Moscow’s assault on Ukraine. Cut off from Europe’s Airbus and US-based Boeing, Russian airlines are facing particular trouble securing and maintaining both physical parts and advanced software needed to keep planes in the air, experts say. “The conditions in which Russian airlines operate have certainly become much more difficult and the risks for the industry have obviously increased,” Oleg Panteleyev, director of AviaPort.ru, an agency specializing in the Russian aviation industry told AFP. Several recent incidents have highlighted the concerns. In August, passengers on a Red Wings flight were stuck in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for 24 hours due to simultaneous “technical malfunctions” on the only two available aircraft. The company pointed to “external sanctions” and “restrictions on the supply of spare parts, which complicates aircraft maintenance” in a press release. The same month a Russian Pegas Fly plane was delayed in Thailand due to faults with its weather monitoring system. At the start of October, Flagcarrier Aeroflot suffered three technical failures to its planes in a single day.<br/>