The last Soviet-era resource that Putin has resorted to in order to prevent an air transport collapse in the country

Russia has launched a program to restore aging aircraft in order to address a growing shortage in its civil aviation fleet, a situation that has deteriorated under Western sanctions imposed since 2022. This was confirmed by Rostec, Russia’s state-owned industrial conglomerate, to the newspaper Izvestia, as reported by The Moscow Times.

According to the state company, Russian airlines will receive Soviet- and Russian-built aircraft that had been out of service between 2026 and 2027, with the aim of maintaining passenger traffic across the country. The plan includes nine Tupolev Tu-204 and Tu-214 aircraft, one Antonov An-148, and two wide-body Ilyushin Il-96 planes, which are expected to be delivered to carriers such as Red Wings Airlines.

Aircraft with up to 30 years of service return to operations

Of the twelve aircraft included in the restoration program, ten stand out for having already returned to service, some with up to 30 years of operational history. At the same time, Russian airlines have resumed the use of stored foreign-made aircraft. For example, Rossiya Airlines plans to expand operations with Boeing 747 planes that were taken out of service during the covid-19 pandemic.

Experts consulted by Izvestia say that restoring older aircraft is an attempt to offset the difficulty of maintaining and replacing the fleet, a challenge driven mainly by sanctions that restrict access to new aircraft and spare parts. This situation persists despite a government program launched after 2022 aimed at replacing foreign-made planes with domestically produced models.

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