China bans Russian aircraft?

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has reportedly banned Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by Russian airlines from entering Chinese airspace.

Several Russian airlines received and later published memos citing the ban, Russian news site RBK reports.

It is very likely that the reason behind the ban is a technical one and that the Chinese CAA were aware that the aircraft did not meet ICAO requirements.  With one aircraft already down by unknown means (see BTN 23 May China Eastern – no real news or suicide) it would seem that the authorities were not going to take any risks.  International flights, other than in Russia, might be in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, according to sources cited by the Telegram channel Aviatorschina, the Russian airlines that operate domestically-made aircraft, such as the Tu-204 and the Il-76, continue flying to China.

After the sanctions that were declared by the US and the EU following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many aircraft operated by Russian carriers but owned by Western leasing firms, have been effectively commandeered, with the airlines failing to return them to the legal owners.

Additionally, in March and May Russian aviation laws were overhauled, getting rid of numerous safety regulations relating to maintenance and certification. With sanctions also affecting maintenance and parts of non-Russian-made aircraft, Russian airlines are facing an upcoming struggle to keep the aircraft airworthy.

In other move Aeroflot has suspended all flights to Sri Lanka after a court ordered the seizure of one of its Airbus A330s on Thursday, 2 June. The seizure came after the plane's Irish owner requested an injunction since the A330's lease had been terminated following sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

www.chinaaviationdaily.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum