A third of helicopters in Russia may stop flying due to sanctions

Russia could be without 30% of its helicopters within a year, said Andrei Martirosov, head of Utair, the largest helicopter operator. According to him, this will happen if the problem with the supply of engines and other components is not resolved.

According to RBC, Martirosov presented his script during a speech at the HeliRussia forum on May 18. The priority problem of the industry was the lack of engines for helicopters and the difficulty in obtaining units and components, as well as delays in their delivery reaching up to 300 days. The shortage of engines, according to him, arose in helicopters of both foreign and domestic production.

“We anticipate in our own way. [вертолетному] Park [группы Utair]. If the situation does not change, there will be a 30% stop [вертолетов]. I think that the situation of other operators is no better,” said the head of the company.

The main supplier of helicopter engines to Russia was the Ukrainian company Motor Sich. In 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian authorities banned such deliveries. However, the company’s engines continued to enter Russia. As part of international commitments, there are “permit schemes,” Vyacheslav Boguslav, president of Motor Sich, told RBC in 2018. “We have no right not to comply with them,” he explained.

UTair Helicopter Services (a subsidiary of Utair) is the largest helicopter company in Russia and one of the largest in the world. Its fleet has about 200 helicopters: Mi-26, Mi-8, Ka-32, AS 350 and AS 355.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, Western states imposed sanctions on the Russian aviation industry, including a ban on the supply of spare parts to Russia. As a result, companies face a shortage of components. On the eve of Rostransnadzor, he reported that in 2022, more than 2,000 were registered. flights of aircraft with end-of-life equipment.