Russian airlines using An-2 aircraft are experiencing a shortage of spare parts due to the fact that European companies have refused to supply them. This issue was discussed at the end of June at a meeting of the working group of the commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation, RBC reports citing two participants in the meeting.
According to them, the general director of the Moscow Aviation Repair Plant (MARP), Pavel Nenastyev, spoke about interruptions in supplies and an increase in the price of spare parts. He also said that in order to solve the problem, it is necessary to establish production in Russia of about 60 types of components for the An-2.
In an interview with RBC, Nenastyev said that if nothing is done, repair companies simply will not be able to serve the "corn workers". “This threatens to stop the fleet of An-2 aircraft,” warned the general director of MARZ.
Representatives of the Shakhty Aviation Repair Plant (SHARZ) and the Siberian Aviation Research Institute (SibNIA), which became the developer of the An-2 in Russia in 2013, agreed with this assessment of the situation.
The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that new aircraft are being developed in Russia that can replace the An-2 on regional airlines. In particular, the Ural Civil Aviation Plant is engaged in the creation of a light multi-purpose aircraft "Baikal".
Foreign companies stopped supplying aircraft parts to Russia due to sanctions imposed after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.