The Russian airline industry is on the ‘verge of collapse’ and ‘exposing its population to mortal danger’ revealed the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR) after its latest cyber operation successfully hacked Kremlin records.
Announcing the details on its Telegram channel, the HUR calculated that the Russian airline industry was being severely impacted due to unlicensed repairs, a lack of spare parts and other systematic maintenance shortfalls, as evidenced by more than eighteen months’ worth of records analysed.
“Moscow is exposing its population to mortal danger as it tries in every way to cover up the seemingly endless list of problems that exist within its civil aviation sector,” noted the HUR in a damning statement.
In January 2023 alone, 185 air incidents (30% of which were classified as serious) were reported. Some 19 of the nation’s Airbus fleet, 33 Boeing and thee Embraer aircraft were also noted as having suffered technical failures; with 150 reports of aircraft technical malfunctions being reported in the first nine months of the year, compared with less than 50 during the same period in 2022.
Owing to ongoing economic sanctions imposed upon Russia, it is estimated that of the 820 foreign-manufactured civilian aircraft in the nation’s fleet have been repaired using uncertified spare parts and servicing. Among the most difficult elements to source were flight-critical components such as engines, hydraulic systems, flaps and software. As such, by mid-2023, as many as 35% of Russia’s foreign fleet had been cannibalised in an attempt to keep the rest airworthy. Soviet-era aircraft, meanwhile, have largely been grounded owing to a lack of engine supplies from external nations.