newstodate.aero

Oct 04, 2023 (newstodate): Managing a Russian airline with a fleet comprising exclusively Airbus aircraft is not easy these days...
   Due to sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, western lessors have demanded the return of aircraft, and aircraft manufacturers have ceased providing supplies of spare parts and aircraft maintenance to Russia.
   Severely hit by these developments is Ural Airlines with a fleet of 52 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, 19 of which are today still on western registration.
   Under the procedure agreed with the lessor, the airline had until the end of September to bring the aircraft on Russian registration after transferring the agreed compensation to the western lessors.
   Technically, the money would come as a 15 years soft loan by Russia's National Welfare Fund to the leasing company NLK-Finance, part of the Federal Air Transport Agency, that would then be owner of the aircraft placed with Ural Airlines.
   The money did not arrive in time - but an agreement has now been reached with the US Treasury's  Office of Foreign Assets Control to extend the deadline for re-issuing documents until October 31, 2023.
    Since 2010 the all-Airbus fleet has replaced Ural Airlines' earlier fleet of Soviet-built Antonov An-24, Ilyushin Il-86 and Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft.