Aeroflot A330-300 (Johannes)
Aeroflot A330-300 (Johannes)
Air Transport

Aeroflot announces purchase of 8 leased A330s

Aircraft were reportedly acquired through an exception to Western sanctions against Russia.
Ricardo Meier

Aeroflot used a legal exception in its leasing contracts to acquire eight Airbus A330-300s out of the 12 in its fleet.

The airline did not detail which aircraft these are, but said the payment was made "as part of the fulfillment of contractual obligations".

To legally keep the eight widebodies, Aeroflot used an exception existing in the economic sanctions applied by the European Union against Russia after the military invasion of Ukraine.

Under the regulation introduced on April 8, EU national authorities can authorize the execution of aircraft finance leasing contracts dated before February 26, provided that it is "strictly necessary to ensure lease re-payments".

Since the West instituted retaliatory measures against the Russian government, more than 400 leased aircraft have been stranded in Russia.

The airworthiness certificates of dozens of aircraft that were registered in Bermuda and Ireland were suspended, causing the Russian civil aviation authority to transfer the registrations to the country.

About the Author

Ricardo Meier

Ricardo Meier

Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.

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