Russia's Red Wings Airlines to launch Chelyabinsk base

US warns Türkiye over servicing Russian, Belarus carriers

Turkish airport ground handler Havaş has warned Russian and Belarusian airlines that it may no longer be able to serve around 180 Boeing and other aircraft due to United States sanctions, Russia’s RBK TV channel reported.

The ban would include refuelling, maintenance, and repair of any aircraft in which more than 25% of American parts and technologies have been used - a general de-minimis rule for what constitutes a US product.

The development follows the emergence of reports last week that Washington was leaning on Türkiye to stop Russian carriers from operating flights there with Boeing jets, as it tries to more comprehensively enforce sanctions imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine last February.

TAV Airports-owned Havaş, Türkiye’s largest ground handler, dispatched a letter to Russia dated January 31 saying: “We are running a due-diligence process to identify the risks and consequences to our business and stakeholders. As a result of this, we may find ourselves unable to serve some or all of your flights.”

The letter, which circulated on social media channels...

Russia’s Aeroflot resumes its own flights to Kazakhstan

Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) has said it will resume scheduled flights to Kazakhstan starting February 1, despite the possibility its non-Russian aircraft could be seized while they are there.

The Russian flag carrier will start flights to Almaty (3x daily), Astana (Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev, 2x daily), and Atyrau (2x weekly rising to 3x weekly in March), using Airbus A320 Family aircraft, it said.

Aeroflot Group already operates between Russia and Kazakhstan through its subsidiary Rossiya (FV, St. Petersburg), the ch-aviation schedules module shows, from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Aktau, Aktobe, Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, Karaganda, and Kostanay, all with Russian-made SSJ 100/95 equipment.

Aeroflot has been careful not to operate a substantial part of its fleet to international destinations due to the risk of lessors seizing the aircraft they leased to the carrier, which have been stranded in Russia since sanctions were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine.

However, an official in Kazakhstan’s government told the US-based Central Asia news specialist...

US presses Türkiye to halt Russian flights on Boeing jets

The United States is pressuring Türkiye to stop Russian and Belarusian airlines from operating flights on Boeing aircraft, sources close to the matter have told The Wall Street Journal, as Washington seeks to enforce sanctions imposed on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine last February.

The sources said that senior US officials warned last month that individuals in Türkiye face fines, prison terms, loss of export privileges, and other punishments if they continue to refuel and supply spare parts to American-made planes flying to and from Russia and Belarus.

Thea D Rozman Kendler, assistant secretary of commerce for export administration at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), reminded Turkish officials during a visit in December that providing such services violates export controls imposed on Russian, Belarusian, and Iranian transport companies, the insiders added.

How Türkiye reacts to this warning will demonstrate how strictly the United States and its allies can isolate Russia in the long term, according to the newspaper. It comes as South Africa also reportedly considers allowing Russian flights to land at...

Editorial Comment: Added details from RIA Novosti report - 30.01.2023 - 17:31 UTC

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