SUMMARY
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WASHINGTON, USA – The US commerce department on Wednesday, March 30, added 73 Boeing airplanes that are operated by Russia airlines and have recently flown to Russia to a list of aircraft believed to violate US export controls as part of the Biden administration’s sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the department named 100 airplanes including 99 Boeing aircraft operated by Russian passenger and cargo carriers including flag carrier Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Utair, Nordwind, Azur Air, and Aviastar-TU – as well as billionaire Roman Abramovich‘s Gulfstream G650 – in a move that the department said would “effectively ground” the planes from traveling outside Russia.
The department said it was removing 12 aircraft of the 100 initially named to allow them to return to owners in other countries.
The 73 planes added on Wednesday include ones operated by Atran, Aeroflot units Pobeda and Rossiya, Alrosa, S7 Airlines, Pegas Fly, and Royal Flight, as well as some additional Aeroflot and Utair planes.
The department warned companies and other entities around the world that any refueling, maintenance, repair, or spare parts or services violate US export controls and subject companies to US enforcement actions that could include “substantial jail time, fines, loss of export privileges, or other restrictions,” the department said.
The United States, Canada, and much of Europe have barred Russian planes from flying over their airspace, which has forced the cancellation of much of Russia’s international flights.
Russia’s biggest cargo airline, Volga-Dnepr Group, said on March 18 it suspended all flights using Boeing aircraft due to Western sanctions. Volga-Dnepr said it stopped operations of two of its subsidiaries – AirBridgeCargo and Atran.
S7, Russia’s biggest private airline and second largest overall, also said on March 4 it was ceasing all international flights, while Pobeda said on March 25 it was grounding 16 of its 41 Boeing jets due to the sanctions.
Asked about flight data that suggests some planes on the list have made recent international flights, a commerce spokesman said the agency “continues to evaluate aircraft transiting in and out of Russia and Belarus” to determine if they are in compliance with US licensing requirements. – Rappler.com
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