Anna Hartz
Civil aviation depends on technology, skilled manufacturing, and constant maintenance.
Even countries with a strong aviation history struggle when these systems break down. Russia is facing exactly that problem today.
Unable to Produce Enough
Despite the Soviet Union’s long legacy in building civilian aircraft, Russia cannot produce enough planes to meet its own needs, reports WP. Moscow often claims it is replacing Western aircraft with domestically designed planes. In reality, Russian passenger aviation is shrinking.
Sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine have hit civil aviation hard. Western planes used by Russian airlines cannot be properly serviced. Russian-made aircraft are too few to fill the gap. This has led to a shortage of planes. Recently, Russian airlines have had to bring back passenger aircraft that were long out of service.
According to Izvestia, Russia restored 10 planes, including the Tu-204-214, An-148, and Il-96. Experts say stored aircraft can fly again if maintenance rules are strictly followed. Russian media portray this as a success, but it shows the structural problems in Russian aviation.
In 2025, Russia’s 76 carriers had 1,135 aircraft, 1,088 of which were airworthy. Western planes make up 67 percent of the fleet. Most of these cannot be serviced properly due to sanctions. In 2024, Western aircraft flew 95 percent of Russia’s passenger flights.
Long-Distance Imports
Russia tries to bypass sanctions by refurbishing older American planes, sometimes with help from Iran, or by importing parts from third countries. These are temporary fixes. Airlines are using all available aircraft, while 2–3 percent are retired each year due to wear.
Passenger traffic to long-distance destinations is increasingly handled by foreign carriers. Forecasts indicate that by 2030, Russia could lose 230 domestic and 109 foreign aircraft from its fleets.
Russia’s ambitious plans to replace old planes with new, domestic models are failing. Of the 127 new planes announced for 2023–2025, only 13 were delivered. Twelve were small Sukhoi Superjet 100s, and only one Tu-214, the larger model, entered service.
The shortage of aircraft and parts is causing safety risks. In 2025 alone, 319 failures were reported, including 55 in flight. In December 2025, an An-22 transport aircraft broke apart mid-air. If the fleet is not grounded or rebuilt, further disasters are likely.
The crisis is worsened by the collapse of Russia’s industrial sector. Programs for new planes, like the ŁMS-901 Baikal and Yakovlev MC-21, are stalled. Russia lacks the technology and production capacity to replace its failing fleet.
Sources: WP
