Moscow plots retaliation following EU blacklisting of 21 Russian airlines
Moscow’s aviation regulator said it was planning countermeasures after the EU Commission banned 21 Russian airlines from operating.
The Rosaviatsia said Brussels’ decision attested to a “policy of discrimination and violation of international aviation law,” which is expected to bring about “response measures” from Moscow’s side.
The EU Commission announced yesterday it had added a further 21 Russian airlines to the list of carriers prevented from operating in the bloc over concerns planes did not have a valid certificate of airworthiness, following the Kremlin’s seizure of foreign-leased aircraft.
“The Russian airlines concerned have knowingly done so in breach of relevant international safety standards. This …poses an immediate safety threat,” said EU commissioner for transport Adina Valean.
“Said restrictive measures in regard to Russian airline companies were adopted in absentia and have no ground whatsoever in terms of the technical condition of the carriers’ air fleets, keeping these aircraft airworthy and executing lease transactions,” the Russian regulator said in a statement.
“The blacklisted companies have all the necessary onboard documentation approved by the Russian civil aviation authority. All aircraft meet airworthiness requirements, and undergo regular technical maintenance within the timetable set by the technical maintenance program.”