In 2022, the West imposed withering sanctions
on the Russian aviation
industry. One of the most notable victims is the Russian airline Royal Flight Airlines (formerly Adakan-Avia), which lost 85% of its aircraft overnight. Dozens of aircraft were seized after sanctions were placed on Russia
(and Russia airlines remain cut off from replacement Airbus and Boeing parts for their existing jets). In November 2024,
Simple Flying reported on one notable example where a former Aeroflot Airbus A320-200
had to pay an almost $500,000 parking fee at Munich Airport (having parked there for over 2 years) before flying to the Czech Republic.
While the seizure of many aircraft operated (but leased and so not owned) by Russian airlines was painful, it was the instant end of Royal Flight Airlines. The loss of so many jets is one reason
why Russia is in a hurry to build commercial passenger jets
.
Royal Flight lost 11 of 13 aircraft due to sanctions
Royal Flight Airlines was an airline offering charter services between Russian cities and various favored holiday destinations in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. Royal Flight was established in 1992, right after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and started operations as Abakan-Avia in 1993. It was established from a former Aeroflot unit ( Aeroflot
is the flag carrier of Russia). The airline became an early causality of sanctions, ceasing operations in May 2022. Royal Flight carried 1.5 million passengers in 2021, making it the 13th largest airline in Russia.
Photo: Alex Snow l Wikimedia Commons
In 2022, Royal Flight lost 11 out of its 13 aircraft due to sanctions (both of its remaining aircraft were then left parked at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow). These two aircraft were a Boeing 757-200
and a Boeing 737-800
. Royal Flight subsequently lost its operator’s certificate in 2024. The chances of Royal Flight returning to the markets are believed to be zero.
Royal Flight Airlines: |
|
---|---|
Type: |
Russian commercial charter airline |
Date operated: |
1993-2022 |
Fleet size: |
13 in beginning 2022 |
Aircraft seized: |
11 aircraft in March 2022 |
Status: |
Defunct |
Remaining aircraft: |
One Boeing 737 transferred to Podeda and one Boeing 757 transferred to Azur Air |
According to Kommesant reporting in mid-2022, Royal Flight’s former aircraft were detained in Turkey and Egypt during evacuation flights at the request of four US and EU lessors. The remaining two aircraft were transferred to the Russian registry. In order to continue operating in Russia, Russian airlines are required to have at least three aircraft. Royal Flight considered buying back old Russian disassembled Tu-214s so that it could meet that threshold. However, it was unable to agree on a price, and this never happened. Kommesant reported that charter flights were still offered by Ural Airlines, iFly, Rossiya, and others.
Photo: Sergey Korovkin 84 l Wikimedia Commons
In 2024, Royal Flight transferred one of its remaining aircraft (the Boeing 737-800) to the ultra-low-cost Russian airline, Pobeda Airlines
. The Boeing 767 was 11 years old and was used to fly to resort destinations inside of Russia. Podeda is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aeroflot and offers scheduled service to domestic and international destinations.

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With a fleet now fully comprised of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Aeroflot is doing its best to keep operations going amid sanctions on spare parts.
Azur Air also lost half its aircraft due to sanctions
According to the Russian news outlet Kommersant, the last Royal Flight airplane (a Boeing 757-200) will go to charter Azur Air
(this was also reported by ch-aviation). The aircraft is expected to begin flights in the spring-summer. The 757 is 26 years old, and according to Kommersant reporting on 9th January 2025, the aircraft has already been transported to Vnukovo Airport (Azur Air’s base airport). Two other Russian airlines competed for the aircraft, but in the end it was awarded to Azur Air.
Photo: fifg | Shutterstock
Azur Air |
|
---|---|
Type: |
Russian scheduled commercial airline |
Date operated: |
1995 to present |
Fleet size: |
23 beginning 2022, 12 January 2025 |
Aircraft seized: |
11 aircraft in March 2022 |
Status: |
Operating |
Remaining aircraft: |
6x Boeing 757-200s, 6x Boeing 767-300ERs |
Azur Air is expected to strengthen its network in Southeast Asia with its new Boeing 757-200 (the region is popular with Russian holidaymakers). Russian airlines are banned from operating in European and North American airspace (Western airlines are also banned from Russian airspace).
“Until 2022, Azur Air was among the top 10 carriers in the Russian Federation; since then, detailed statistics have not been disclosed, but according to the results of 2024, the airline carried more than 2 million passengers.” – Kommersant
The Boeing 757-200 was owned by the Irish lessor AerCap and a settlement has been reached with the company. At the start of the sanctions, many airliners in Russia were unable to fly outside of Russia for fear of being seized by their lessor owners. Since then, Russia has made settlements to purchase hundreds of these aircraft.
Photo: Sudpoth Sirirattanasakul | Shutterstock
Azur Air also took a beating to its fleet at the start of the sanctions. According to Kommersant, “in 2022, the carrier lost 11 aircraft that were abroad when the sanctions were imposed.” Azur Air only operates Boeing aircraft. It had a fleet of 23 Boeing aircraft, and this has been reduced to just 12 aircraft (including six Boeing 757s and six Boeing 767s).
Today, Azur Air flies to ten destinations in six countries (Egypt, India, the Maldives, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Thailand). It seems that the new Boeing 757-200 is likely to operate flights to Turkey and Egypt in the summer and Thailand, India, and Egypt in the winter.

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Russia Spends $2bn Buying 92 Aircraft From Foreign Lessors
Collectively, the Russian government has purchased and will re-register 92 jets for three airlines.
Other Russian aircraft seized
Its unclear how many Russian-operated aircraft were ultimately seized as the sanctions were imposed in 2022. Writing in March 2022, Reuters reported, “More than 400 leased planes worth almost $10 billion remain in Russia despite a Monday deadline for contract cancellations, though the Interfax news agency last week reported that 78 had been seized abroad.“
Photo: Yakovlev
Seized Russian-operated aircraft include some of the largest aircraft in the world. For example, Lessor BOC Aviation repossessed its Boeing 747-8 cargo plane from Russia’s AirBridgeCargo after it was seized in Hong Kong.
Military aircraft were also seized (operated by private companies). These included two Antonov An-124 Ruslans (one was seized in Canada and one in Germany); the outcome of these aircraft remains undecided. There has been talk of handing them over to Ukraine (where they were produced) and that Ukraine may use them as sources of parts to rebuild the destroyed An-225 Mriya (formally the largest aircraft in the world). With the destruction of the sole An-225, the An-124 is the largest military transport (larger than the American C-5M Super Galaxy).

Related
Analysis: Why Russia Is On Track To Miss Its Target Of 1,000 New Passenger Aircraft By 2030
After almost three years, no Russian passenger jets have been delivered as the civil sector competes with the military sector for resources.
A dire situation for civil Russian aviation
Not only is the Russian civilian aviation cut off from international parts and services, it is also
forced to compete for finite resources with the military
(at a time when the Kremlin is likely prioritizing the needs of the military). Russia has plans to produce 1,000 passenger aircraft of various types by 2030. However, this is not happening. As of the end of 2024, the only new aircraft the Russian civil aviation received were eight Sukhoi Superjets built with stockpiled components sourced before the sanctions took effect.
Photo: Atakan Divitlioglu l Shutterstock
Russia is rushing to restart its domestic production of passenger jets by substituting international parts with domestic Russian-produced parts. This is no easy feat given that the Superjet was built with around 80% imported parts, the MC-21 was built with 60% imported parts, and even the old Soviet-era Tu-214 was built with around 14% imported parts. Aircraft like the MC-21 are expected to eventually be produced 6 tons overweight and underpowered.
The eight types of domestic Russian planned passenger aircraft:
- Yakovlev MC-21: 181-211 seats
- Tupolev Tu-214: 150-215 seats
- Sukhoi Superjet: 98-103 seats
- Ilyushin Il-14-300: 64-68 seats
- Ilyushin Il-96-300: 237-300 seats
- LMS-901 Baikal: 9 seats
- LMS-192 Osvey: 15-19 seats
- TVRS-44 Ladoga: 44 seats
Additionally,
Russian civil aviation is seemingly warping backwards through time
. Not only is Russia looking to restart the production of comparatively simple (but obsolete) variants of the Tu-214 and Il-96, it is also retiring some of its newest jets first. Around
half of Russia’s fleet of Airbus A321neos and A320neos is now grounded
as Russia is unable to service their new CFM International LEAP engines. At the same time, Aeroflot is bringing retired Boeing 747s back into service due to a lack of other airframes.
If Russia manages to put the Ilyushin Il-96 back into production, it will be the world’s only quad-engined commercial passenger jet in production.
Photo: DLeng | Shutterstock
Making matters worse, Russia can’t purchase Brazilian or Chinese passenger aircraft. On the surface, it could seem that
Russia would be able to purchase Brazilian Embraers or China’s new COMAC C919
(Brazil and China do not partake in sanctions on Russia). However, as with the Russian Superjet and MC-21, these aircraft are filled with Western (mostly American) avionics, flight control systems, computers, engines, and other components. Separately,
the COMAC C919 could be vulnerable to US sanctions
if relations between China and the US deteriorate.