Sanctions Haven't Stopped Russia From Acquiring Spare Parts For Boeing, Airbus Aircraft

Jun 29, 2025

When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the world responded by cutting Russia off. For aviation, this meant no more access to the Global Distribution System (GDS), limited international flights, no new Western planes, and no more parts for existing aircraft. However, this hasn't stopped Russia from obtaining parts, and Finnish news production Yle reports that Russia has obtained nearly one billion euros ($1.173 billion) in parts.

As part of the sanctions, Airbus and Boeing are both prohibited from selling aircraft or services to Russia, and even Comac as well as Embraer face the same restrictions. To keep their current planes flying, Russia has had to resort to other methods, usually involving allied or neutral parties. Here's how Russia has been obtaining aircraft parts for the last three years.

Reports indicate that Russia has obtained nearly €600 million ($703 million) in parts for Airbus aircraft and nearly €400 million ($468 million) worth of spares for its Boeing planes. As previously mentioned, these companies are not allowed to sell parts or provide servicing for these jets. Therefore, Russia is having these parts shipped via other countries.

Some of the countries that appear to be involved include China, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. Companies based in these nations purchase parts from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and then sell them to Russian airlines. These companies are based all over the world, though most are in China, Türkiye, and the UAE. There have also been reports that Indian firms have begun to participate in these transactions.

Boeing and Airbus have both released statements to Yle regarding these transactions. Boeing's statements essentially repeat the fact that the company adheres to regulations and no longer maintains a business relationship with Russian carriers. Airbus's response is more descriptive,

...There is no legal method for aircraft, parts, documentation or services to be exported into Russia. In regards to spares, Airbus can keep track of genuine parts and documentation and can specify end user commitments (i.e. - part can only be used for specific airline and aircraft MSN [Manufacturer's Serial Number], however there is no method for OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturer] to police non genuine parts, documentation and services," the company stated.

The investigation by Yle found that Russia has received over 4,000 shipments of parts ever since sanctions were imposed in February 2022. These components vary in size and shape, ranging from small cabin fittings to electronics, and according to the Yle report, even entire powerplants. It's also been reported that hundreds of firms have engaged in these transactions.

The majority of these parts are sold to civilian companies, like Aeroflot or S7 Airlines. However, most Russian carriers are owned by the government, and so supplying parts to Russian airlines gives the government more revenue. Additionally, there's the concern of the technology potentially being used directly in the war, such as communications of radar systems.

None of the countries involved in these imports have participated in the sanctions against Russia. As such, Western nations have responded by sanctioning specific companies. Ultimately, it's nearly impossible to fully shut down this operation.

The Russian airline Royal Airlines lost 85% of its aircraft due to sanctions, while Azur Air lost around half of its fleet

During the Soviet Union, the majority of commercial flying within the USSR was operated by locally designed airliners. In the 21st century, however, Russian carriers have switched to primarily operating Airbus and Boeing models. Now, Russian airlines are blocked from purchasing new Western planes, so Russia has been attempting to revitalize its domestic aircraft industry. Most recently, an all-Russian variant of its MC-21 narrowbody has just performed its first flight.

Most airliners worldwide are leased, including Russia's aircraft. Of these, hundreds were leased from foreign leasing companies with foreign registrations, who wanted their aircraft. Russia is a signatory of the Cape Town Convention, which, for this scenario, legally requires it to participate with lessors for repossessions. However, in this case, the Russian government told its airlines to simply keep the planes and reregister them as Russian aircraft.

Today, Russia's airline industry is in a similar position to Iran's. Severe sanctions have prevented any new aircraft order, which means that Iranian carriers need to keep older aircraft flying far past their typical service lives. Because parts are difficult to acquire, focus is directed towards repairing components rather than replacing them. Overall, the future of Russia's airline industry looks bleak, even with the imports and possible new aircraft models on the horizon.

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Shady deals will always exist

Are they cheap ? No

Are they providing enough spares ? No

So the hinderance remains, despite locally produced replacement parts and the situation can only worsen with the aging of the fleet

When will politicians learn, sanctions don't work !

This is a significant reversal for a platform once expected to become the cornerstone of next-generation airborne command and control.

The new Air Force One program continues to face several hurdles.

All major US carriers have retired the Boeing 747.

Today, over 600 of the variants are in operation for customers around the globe.

The next-gen Air Force One program is getting a new chief.

The order reportedly features both narrowbody and widebody twinjets.