The Russian aviation industry has faced severe consequences from Western sanctions: in 2025, Russian aircraft manufacturers were able to deliver only one of the planned 15 commercial airplanes. The main reasons for this situation were restrictions on the import of foreign components and high interest rates, which significantly complicated attracting investments in the industry.
This is reported by Finway
Decline in Production and Issues with Importing Parts
After the sanctions were imposed, Russian companies lost direct access to foreign aircraft and spare parts. This forced them to seek complex indirect routes for importing critically important components. The dynamics of new aircraft deliveries have significantly decreased: while in 2021 the fleet was replenished with 52 new commercial aircraft (including 27 Airbus, three Boeing, and 22 Sukhoi Superjets, which contained a significant number of imported parts), only 13 new machines have been added since then. Of these, 12 are Superjets for various Russian airlines, and one is a Tu-214, a twin-engine medium-haul aircraft.
Due to issues with components, the Russian government has repeatedly changed production plans. In mid-2024, the targets for 2024-2025 were reduced from 171 to 21 aircraft, and a recent announcement was made regarding another revision of these plans due to financial difficulties and a slowdown in production.
Dependence on Imports and New Challenges
Despite official statements about localizing production, the Russian Federation remains dependent on foreign components. According to customs data, in 2024, aircraft parts worth at least $300,000 were supplied through intermediaries from Turkey, China, Kyrgyzstan, and the UAE. Among them are components from the French company Safran, the American Honeywell, and the British Rolls-Royce. However, there is currently no confirmation that these companies have violated the sanctions restrictions.
Russia has introduced a parallel import system, allowing goods to be transported through third countries without agreement from the manufacturers. Honeywell emphasized that it does not cooperate with Russian organizations and is actively working to prevent its products from reaching Russia through intermediaries. Rolls-Royce stated that it does not do business with sanctioned individuals or companies and has a robust sanctions compliance system that includes verifying counterparties and monitoring suspicious requests.
“There is no component base, no technologies, no production capacities, no engineers. Creating all of this from scratch will take years, if not decades,” said a representative of the Russian aviation industry.
Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov acknowledged that Russia is currently facing a unique and “extremely complex” problem. He also noted that no country produces fully import-substituted aircraft.
The decline in the supply of aircraft amid high demand is contributing to rising ticket prices, as confirmed by statistics: throughout 2023 and 2024, prices have steadily increased. In response to the aircraft shortage, Russia has been forced to engage airlines from Central Asia—specifically Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan—to operate domestic flights.