newstodate.aero

Nov 09, 2023 (newstodate): Barred from import of western-built aircraft and spares, Russia's airlines are fighting hard to keep fleets in the air.
   One issue concerns the airworthiness of the regional airlines' fleets of aging AN-24 and AN-26 aircraft.
   First flown in 1959, the An-24 was produced in some 1,000 units of various versions; in 2023 there are 93 still in service worldwide, mostly in the CIS and Africa, and the AN-26, first introduced in 1970, was produced in 1,403 units.
   Now Russian regional airlines are approaching the country's aviation authorities with a request for prolonging the service life of the two aircraft types.
   -Today, there are about 150 domestic regional aircraft, of which 95-98 are An-24 and An-26 with a production date of 1962 and an average age of 50 years, Sergei Zorin, First Deputy General Director of Eastland Group of Companies LLC, said at a recent round-table aviation conference.
   -From the report of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation it follows that by 2030 a quarter of these aircraft will have been written off - in fact, in our opinion, the shutdown of this fleet will occur much earlier, namely from 2028, Zorin said.
   Worries are also building concerning the Russian airlines' fleet of Superjet 100 aircraft.
   -Sukhoi Superjet aircraft are already, in principle, beginning to face the problem of the lack of aircraft engines, replacement of Sam146. And, in our opinion, the production time of new Sukhoi Superjet New aircraft with Russian PD-8 engines will be much slower than the speed at which Sukhoi Superjet aircraft with Sam146  will stop due to the lack of aircraft engines. Thus, in the foreseeable future - I think, in 2025 - a gap will form when we simply will not have enough Sukhoi Superjet aircraft, said Sergei Krupnov, IrAero Deputy General Director at the conference.