Russia to reassemble Airbus A320 Aircraft amid sanctions
Amid strict international sanctions, Russian carrier Ural Airlines has announced a programme to extend the service life of its Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The company plans to independently maintain aircraft whose flight hours have exceeded 96,000.
The move is a forced attempt to keep the fleet operational in the absence of certified maintenance and original spare parts.
The project will be carried out at the airline’s own technical centre, which does not hold licences from the manufacturer, Airbus. Russian specialists intend to fully dismantle, inspect, and reassemble the airframes.
Aviation experts have expressed serious concerns over the safety of such operations. Uncertified repairs effectively take these planes outside international flight safety standards. The programme represents an attempt to “rejuvenate” aircraft without access to manufacturer technologies or components, significantly increasing the risk of accidents.
The situation for next-generation Airbus neo aircraft in Russia is already approaching collapse. Due to the inability to service modern Pratt & Whitney and Leap engines, passenger traffic for the airline fell by 7% in 2025. A significant portion of the neo fleet remains grounded, as Russian engineers lack the expertise for maintenance and sanctions block official servicing.
Earlier incidents have raised safety concerns, including a Russian airliner issuing a distress signal over Dubai and a Diamond training aircraft crash in Russia.
