Western sanctions hit Russian aviation sector

Russian airlines are still flying despite massive international sanctions imposed on the aviation sector, but their collapse seems imminent. Or have they found a workaround?

There are not a few aviation experts who are surprised that Russia's commercial airlines are still taking to the skies despite a range of biting international sanctions targeting the country's aviation sector.

Not long after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Western countries barred their airspace to Russia's airlines; foreign airlines cut their commercial ties to them, and plane makers such as Boeing and Airbus stopped delivering crucial spare parts to Russia. According to those experts, it wouldn't take more than two weeks before commercial aviation in Russia collapsed.

Nine months into the war, however, reports about Russian aviation's imminent death are proving to be premature. Flight services for Russian passengers operate seemingly uninterrupted, at least on domestic routes. How can that be?