Russia wants Indian airlines to operate local flights within its territory: Report

Russia has reportedly made a proposal to allow Indian airlines to operate local flights within its territory. This comes as Russian carriers are unable to meet the demands because of Western sanctions that have cut off their access to US and European aircraft manufacturers and component supplies. However, Indian carriers have told the government that it might not quite be feasible. 

According to a report in The Economic Times, Russia approached India, China as well as a few other Asian nations to help them out. Russia approached these countries with a ‘cabotage’ – that gives the right to operate air, water or other transportation within a specific territory – plan.

The matter reportedly came up during the recent BRICS summit, the report added.  

However, it is unlikely for Indian airlines to take on the endeavour. As per the report, the carriers have told the government that companies that leased to them as well as insurers would not agree to the idea due to the Western sanctions. Moreover, they too are facing a shortage of airliners to operate locally, the carriers said.

Before the Ukraine conflict, Boeing and Airbus aircraft constituted a significant portion of the fleet for Russian airlines. However, sanctions have led to the suspension of all planned deliveries, redirecting them to airlines in other nations. 

In addition, Western companies have stopped supplying components and software to Russia. Aircraft require constant component replacements, regular software updates, and routine checks. Without these, Russian planes are experiencing prolonged grounding, which has significantly impacted expansion efforts, the report added.