How Russia keeps its fleet of Western jets in the air despite sanctions

A Ural Airlines Airbus landed in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on 14 November last year. Then it remained grounded on the tarmac.

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Three days later, a spare part crucial for navigation systems with a declared value of over a quarter of a million dollars, made by US company Northrop Grumman, arrived for the jet, Russian customs records show.

A week later, on 24 November, the A320 took off for Moscow and has been busy ferrying passengers across Russia and Central Asia ever since, according to flight tracking data.

Despite Western sanctions designed to stop Russian carriers from procuring parts for their Airbus and Boeing jets, Ural Airlines has imported over 20 of the US-made devices since Russia invaded. Ukraine in February 2022, the customs data show.

All told, at least $1.2 billion worth of aircraft parts flowed to Russian airlines from May last year when most US and European trade curbs and export bans over Ukraine were in force-to the end of June this year, a Reuters analysis of the customs records shows.

The equipment ranged from essential items needed to keep a jet airworthy-such as the Northrop Grumman devices, cabin pressure valves, cockpit displays and landing gear to more mundane spares, such as coffee makers, flight attendant telephone handsets and toilet seats.