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China’s civil aviation authority has banned over five-hundred Russian airliners from the country’s airspace. Subject aircraft were effectively stolen from lessors by Russian Airlines operating in accordance with an apocryphal edict issued by Russia’s Aviation Authority.   

The surreal story derives of escalating diplomatic strain between Moscow and the West, and increasingly stringent trade restrictions levied against Russia in the wake of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

The Civil Aviation Administration of China’s (CAAC) decision to ban the pilfered aircraft from Chinese airspace was predicated upon a registration stunt that has placed the aircrafts’ legal status in limbo.

Russia’s Aviation Regulatory body recommended on 05 March that all Russian airlines with planes leased from foreign carriers, and not registered in Russia, return home immediately and not land anywhere overseas, lest the aircraft be detained and repossessed. The unprecedented move was made in response to EU sanctions prohibiting the sale of aircraft and parts to Russian companies, and calling for the repossession of all planes leased to Russia by EU lessors. 

China states the airspace restriction will stand until it receives proof that the disputed aircraft are registered solely in Russia.

Deemed persona non grata in the airspace of dozens of NATO countries, and denied spare parts and maintenance expertise, Russia is hard pressed to keep its stolen aircraft operational. The woeful state of Russian civil aviation is evinced by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin‘s lifting of safety regulations specifying that only parts certified by the FAA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or Transport Canada may be used in the maintenance of Russian, Boeing and Airbus aircraft. 

Additionally, Mishustin’s revisions unscrupulously attempt to legitimize the theft of the airplanes from their original lessors by permitting Russian airlines to re-register aircraft under their home flag. 

The actions precipitated safety concerns from numerous aviation institutions which claim diminished maintenance standards constitute a grave danger to the flying public. 

FMI: http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/SY/