The practice of aircraft maintenance interval (TO) management has been in place in many leading aviation administrations for several decades and is well established. On Wednesday, February 15, Izvestia was informed in Rostransnadzor.

The agency stressed that this practice is also provided for in the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“A number of Russian airlines have approached the Federal Air Transport Agency and Rostransnadzor for a joint discussion and development of extension procedures (repair intervals for Western aircraft. – Ed.). Such an approach will make it possible to make clear, transparent and safe decisions regarding the extension of the deadlines for the implementation of airworthiness and aircraft maintenance directives.

In addition, it is noted that a professional expert opinion on the extension of the resource is the main principle of ensuring safety, which is the main priority of Rostransnadzor.

On February 13, Marat Tereshchenko, adviser to the technical director of Aeroflot, told Izvestia that Russian carriers had asked the aviation authorities to allow, in exceptional cases, to increase service intervals for Western aircraft. According to him, this is necessary for the safe continuation of the operation of Boeing and Airbus, the terms for repairing components for which have increased significantly.

On the same day, Aleksey Starkov, S7 Technics power plant repair director, said that the overhaul of the bulk of the engines installed on Western-made aircraft would take place in 2025-2028.

Western sanctions, introduced in the spring of 2022, block the provision of any services to Russian airlines by manufacturers of foreign aircraft and components. Thus, problems of access to repair documentation, technologies and equipment for repairing components, as well as compliance with airworthiness directives, remain.