At a meeting to analyze the situation in the national aviation industry, the President recalled that a month ago European and US companies unilaterally renounced their obligations to Russian aviation and service companies.
He clarified that the country’s companies are now fully fulfilling the existing contracts and are ready to continue to do so.
The head of state stressed that Moscow will respond to this attitude and assured that, at least in the near future, interaction with these “ex-partners” will not be the same as before, according to the Kremlin’s official website.
He expressed that the country has every opportunity to ensure that the Russian aviation industry not only overcomes the current difficulties, but also receives new impetus for its development.
“First of all, it is necessary to support our airlines so that they maintain stable and rhythmic work, employment and the availability of air transport for Russian citizens. These are quick and urgent measures,” he emphasized.
The state company Rostec said that given the situation the country is facing, its first priority will be to ensure timely and reliable maintenance of the current fleet of Russian airlines in order to avoid cuts due to the lack of spare parts or foreign specialists .
He pointed out that the second will be to renew existing aircraft programs in the shortest possible time and offer the domestic market more than 500 civil aircraft by 2030, the TASS news agency reported.
Rostec indicated that the latter will come with the MS-21, SSJ and IL-114 aircraft and the increase in serial production of the Tu-214 and IL-96 aircraft.
“We have to be realistic and understand that these tasks are not easy to solve. We are talking about a realignment of the entire industry. It requires time, resources and maximum excitement. But it’s all possible,” he said.
The state company reminded that according to the agreement on international civil aviation, passenger planes are an instrument of peace and understanding between countries.
“Unfortunately, these principles have been violated by the West today. War has been declared on Russian civil aviation,” he condemned.
On February 28, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) reported that the country decided to close its airspace to 36 countries and territories in response to a similar measure against Russian planes.
The UK closed its airspace to planes from that country on February 24 following the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Three days later, the 27 member states of the European Union agreed to a similar measure to use common airspace, joined by Canada and the United States, among others.
The West has so far imposed more than 6,300 sanctions on Russia, targeting key sectors such as trade, finance, energy, exports, and aerospace.
acl/mml