All above board with 'blacklisted' Russian cargo plane landing in SA

THE South African government granted a Russian cargo aircraft blacklisted by the US foreign operator permit to offload transport general cargo, civilian helicopters, and acrobatic aeroplanes.

- MANYANE MANYANE

THE government has been warned that the relationship between South Africa and the US could worsen after a Russian cargo aircraft, blacklisted by the US, landed in Upington on Thursday.

This was confirmed by the Department of Transport yesterday. The aircraft belongs to Abakan Air, which was blacklisted by the US in June 2024, for transporting Russian military equipment and supporting Russia's defence industrial base during its war against Ukraine.

The landing of Abakan Air in South Africa has raised concerns that this could exacerbate the already strained relationship between South Africa and the US.

The Ilyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft reportedly landed heavily loaded before it was later spotted empty when it stopped for fuel at Lanseria Airport.

The last recorded position on Flightrader24 (FR24) for the aircraft shows that before the long flight to South Africa via Dar es Salaam, it had been in Iran for a considerable time.

The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Moscow-based cargo airline as part of a larger round of sanctions targeting Russia.