Russia Faces Urgent Need to Phase Out Foreign Airliners Amid Sanctions and Aging Fleet

Russia is facing the necessity to replace numerous foreign civil aircraft in the upcoming years as its fleet of Western-manufactured planes approaches the end of its operational life, as warned by Sergei Chemezov, head of the state-owned defense industrial group Rostec.

By 2030, at least 200 of the Western planes currently in service with Russian airlines, which can no longer obtain maintenance or spare parts due to wartime sanctions, will need to be retired and replaced with domestically produced alternatives, Chemezov informed reporters at the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.

He mentioned that the actual figure might be even higher, emphasizing that Rostec has only begun discussions with airlines to evaluate the condition of their fleets.

Chemezov’s statements imply that almost 30% of Russia’s passenger planes manufactured in the West may be grounded within the next five years.

The country’s commercial aviation fleet includes approximately 700 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, accounting for 90% of air travel in Russia.

Due to sanctions, airlines have already decommissioned 58 planes, according to Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsia.

Last week, he noted that the reduction in available aircraft was partly caused by an increase in flight incidents since the imposition of Western restrictions.

According to the independent news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, there were 208 aviation incidents reported in Russia during the first 11 months of 2024, indicating that the year is on track for a 25% increase compared to the previous one. At least 90 of these incidents involved system failures, such as issues with engines or landing gear. Since the beginning of 2025, at least 10 Russian aircraft have encountered in-flight malfunctions and sent out distress signals. Between December 1, 2024, and January 20, 2025, 11 aircraft experienced engine failures, which included eight from Boeing and Airbus and three Russian-made Superjets.

Industry insiders have informed the U.S.-funded RFE/RL news outlet that Russia’s civil aviation sector is unable to carry out routine maintenance checks on its Western-built aircraft because such procedures require direct collaboration with manufacturers, who have severed ties with Russian carriers.

«I don’t have precise details regarding the lifespan of all Russian aircraft, but 2025 will likely mark the end of legal operations for most of them,» a flight safety expert from Russia disclosed to RFE/RL, requesting anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

The shortage of parts will also impact Russia’s domestically assembled Superjets, which depend on Western components, including engines, avionics, electrical systems, landing gear, and fuel systems. Currently, Russian airlines have 150 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft in operation.

In light of the Western sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities unveiled an ambitious strategy to revive the national aviation industry. By 2030, the goal is to produce around 1,000 commercial aircraft, scaling production to levels not seen since the Soviet period—aiming for 120 planes per year by 2026 and over 200 annually by 2028.

As part of this plan, airlines were scheduled to receive two import-substituted Sukhoi Superjets and three Tupolev Tu-214 jets in 2023, followed by an additional 20 Superjets, seven Tu-214s, six regional MC-21 airliners, and two Ilyushin Il-114-300 turboprops in 2024.

However, the reality has revealed a stark contrast, with only five aircraft—three Tu-214s and two Il-96-300s—having come off the production lines in the past three years, according to the Kommersant business publication.