Two Airlines her Siberia they asked her Russian government to extend the life of Soviet-era Antonov aircraft, many of which are over 50 years old, as Russian aircraft manufacturers struggle to fill the gap caused by the departure of foreign aircraft manufacturers.
The small, propeller-driven aircraft An-24 and An-26 they carry up to 50 passengers and are very resistant to harsh conditions in Siberia and the far north of Russia. But the cost of maintaining them is expected to rise after Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its war in Ukraine have hit investment and access to parts, aviation experts, pilots and industry experts say.
The sanctions, which ban the supply of new aircraft or parts for aircraft made by companies such as Boeing and Airbus, have taken Russia's aviation industry by surprise.
The Antonov jets are one part of Russia's aviation fleet of more than 1,000 aircraft, but the call to extend their lifespan from the typical 60 years highlights the problems domestic aircraft makers are having to keep up with demand.
“It is a very reliable aircraft, all its systems are working properly, there are no problems at all”, pilot Konstantin Zazmundinov told Reuters. “It is very suitable for the conditions of the far north, it can withstand temperatures down to minus 55 degrees. There were times when we were flying at minus 60 degrees Celsius.”
Antonov aircraft were designed in the 1950s and have been produced in Kiev since the 1960s, but none have been built for nearly a decade. In Yakutia, which is Russia's largest region and is almost the size of India and the heart of Russia's diamond industry, airplanes are crucial.
Nearly 100 aircraft remain in service, with an average lifespan of about 50 years, said deputy chief executive of Siberian airline Angara, Sergey Zorin. Some are due to be retired soon within this year.
“By 2030, a quarter of these aircraft will be retired”, said Zorin, without any investment in parts and spare parts. “This is expensive, and impossible to achieve without state support,” Zorin said. “Today we are working in a market where there are no alternatives to the An-24 and An-26.”
An official at Russia's Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Zorin's proposals, backed by Polar Airlines, that the Antonovs be used until a new, similar Russian-made aircraft is put into service were considered during a parliament meeting in November. mode.
Aviation authority Rosaviatsiya did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russia has provided more than $12 billion in government subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since Western sanctions were imposed, according to a Reuters analysis.
Flying tractor
Antonovs do not need runways, but can land on dirt or snow. A plane with 30 passengers landed on a frozen river near the Russian Far East in late December due to pilot error. There were no victims.
“The An-24 is as my father says, a flying tractor,” passenger Kontadin Semyonov told Reuters from the snow-covered runway at Yakutsk airport, located about 5,000 kilometers east of Moscow.. “It flies and it flies and it flies… Don't be afraid to fly with it, we built it for many years.”
But maintaining the Antonovs will soon cease to be financially viable, according to Oleg Pandeleev, head of the Aviaport aviation think tank.
“Continued use of An-24 and An-26 aircraft will inevitably increase the cost of flight hours,” Pandeleev told Reuters. “Keeping an aging fleet in service … will become more and more expensive.”
President Vladimir Putin inadvertently underlined the importance of the Antonovs during his visit to the Far East this week.
“I had planned to fly to Yakutia,” Putin said on Wednesday. “The plane can't land there. I was forced to cancel my trip to Yakutia.”
“This is a specific failure due to transport arrangements,” the Interfax news agency reported.
Zorin does not expect mass production of the new Ladoga aircraft, in the same class as the An-24 and An-26, to begin at best before 2027, later than the government's latest plans call for.
“An-24 and An-26 were and still are the only means of transporting passengers and goods in Yakutia,” said Alexei Yefshev, deputy technical director of Polar Airlines. “There is no substitute for these planes.”
Everyone who uses these planes has had problems with engine parts and components over the past two years, he said. “This needs to be settled.”
Source: News Beast
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