The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority suspended the flight certificates of Russian-operated aircraft registered in the territory on Sunday, citing fears that international sanctions have hampered their capacity to meet airworthiness standards.
Bermuda aviation regulators stated in a statement that sanctions “have had a substantial impact on the ability to sustain safety oversight on Russian operated aircraft.” Flight, technological, and other constraints are so severe that aviation authorities “cannot reliably approve these aircraft as airworthy.”
To punish Putin’s administration for its invasion of Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have restricted their airspace to Russian aircraft and prohibited the export of most avionics and aircraft components to Russia. Boeing and Airbus, which supplied a substantial share of Russia’s commercial air fleet, have ceased parts, maintenance, and technical support for Russian airlines.
The EU also prohibited aircraft leasing, maintenance, and insurance in Russia. Other countries, like Canada and the United Kingdom, have also prohibited Russian planes from flying over their territory.
The flagship carrier of Russia Aeroflot primarily operates Boeing and Airbus planes. The sanctions, combined with Bermuda’s airworthiness ruling, effectively limit Russian aviation to domestic flights and might bring the entire system to a standstill if operators are unable to keep aircraft serviced and certified.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) cautioned that Bermuda’s decision affects hundreds of Russian planes and could prevent aircraft currently in non-sanctions nations from returning to Russia.
According to aviation consulting firm IBA, three-quarters of Russia’s commercial air fleet — 745 aircraft – are registered in Bermuda. Because airlines have been busy moving aircraft registry to Russia, it is difficult to estimate the precise number of aircraft affected by Bermuda’s decision.
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the Ministry of Transport’s plan to take over the airworthiness certificates and maintenance of foreign aircraft has raised safety concerns among aviation experts because Russian carriers will not have access to software updates and manufacturer support.
Last week, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency urged national carriers to significantly reduce their scheduled international flights and advised carriers with aircraft from overseas lessors to suspend international flights to avoid aircraft seizure by other governments, as has occurred in several cases.
The Federal Air Transport Agency also advised Russian nationals to use foreign airlines to travel home, with routes via Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Kazakhstan being choices, as well as flying to Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland and continuing their journey by ground transportation.
