Russia fires aviation aide who told of plan to counter sanctions

Russia’s Air Transport Agency fired an official who publicly outlined the country’s plan to keep airlines flying despite sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Kommersant reported.

Valery Kudinov was in charge of overseeing airworthiness at the agency. At an event last week, he told reporters of preparations to keep foreign-owned aircraft worth up to $10 billion in the country rather than return them to lessors. 

According to news agency reports, he said then that more than 100 aircraft had already been re-registered in Russia, and spare parts held back by Boeing Co. and Airbus SE were being sought from outside the country, including in China, which had refused. 

While the Air Transport Agency disavowed his comments at the time, the plan Kudinov outlined has largely taken shape. President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday allowing state-owned Aeroflot PJSC and other Russian airlines to keep hold of aircraft and re-register planes. 

The agency declined to comment Tuesday on issues related to its staff.

Bermuda and Ireland removed aircraft in Russia from their airworthiness registries. Leasing firms are looking for ways to maintain the planes in India, Hong Kong and elsewhere, Bloomberg reported previously.

AerCap Holdings NV, the world’s biggest leasing firm, has more than 150 planes in Russia, the largest exposure of any foreign lessor. 

“Those aircraft are unlikely to be returned,” Cowen analyst Helane Becker wrote in a research note.