Putin, Planes, and Dealing with Dictators

The Russian government of Vladimir Putin has issued a mandate effectively seizing the planes of European companies, according to aviation industry sources in Russia. As is quite common among commercial carriers, Russian airlines lease most of their aircraft. In total, Russian airlines lease more than five hundred planes from foreign companies, mostly based in Ireland. Declaring these aircraft “strategically important,” the Russian government has ordered Russian airlines not to return planes to their owners in European Union (EU) countries. Pobeda, the low-cost subsidiary of Russia’s largest operator—state-owned Aeroflot—has already announced its intention to retain the planes and prevent foreign companies from repossessing them.¹

The order comes after the EU gave those companies until March 28 to terminate their lease agreements with Russian carriers, part of its sanctions against the Russian government following its invasion of Ukraine. The EU has also banned Russian airlines from flying into EU airspace, meaning leasing companies can repossess their planes only when they land in non-EU countries, such as Turkey. To prevent repossession, Russian carriers are now flying routes only within Russia and Belarus.² . . .

About Thomas Walker-Werth

Thomas Walker-Werth is associate editor of The Objective Standard. He is an Ayn Rand Fellow with Foundation for Economic Education's Hazlitt Project. He holds a master’s degree in music from Oxford Brookes University. His hobbies and interests include travel, aviation, photography, and science. To see more of his work, visit www.walker-werth.com.

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