Russia’s civil aviation woes go beyond aging Boeing and Airbus jets: its fleet includes at least 230 domestically built aircraft that are 40–60 years old and at risk of falling apart midair at any moment.
The country’s state aviation watchdog is sounding the alarm, saying planes with defects are being cleared to fly despite unresolved issues, only partial maintenance, and violations of airworthiness directives. From 2023 to 2025, regulators barred more than 480 aircraft from service—nearly 50% of the fleet registered with the Transport Ministry.
According to The Moscow Times, agency chief Vladimir Kovalsky made the disclosure at the “SLG 2.0” session (airworthiness certificate).
Kovalsky expressed outrage, citing airlines that knowingly lowered safety thresholds when assessing aircraft condition, despite the risk of potential crashes.
“Yes, we falsified, but this does not affect safety,” he quoted one violator as saying.
A bleak outlook is also coming from Rosaviatsiya, the Federal Air Transport Agency. Its head, Dmitry Yadrov, warned that because of sanctions, Russia could lose more than 100 foreign-made aircraft by 2030, shrinking the overall fleet by a third.
