Aeroflot, Russia’s national carrier, has flown one of its Airbus A330-300 wide-body aircraft to Iran for repairs in order to avoid Western sanctions imposed when Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
That is the first time in the airline’s history that one of its planes has been transported to Iran for maintenance.
According to the news website RBC, the jet flew to Tehran on April 5, 2023, and is being studied by engineers from Iran’s major airline, Mahan Air. The provider will execute a wide variety of maintenance on the Airbus A330 aircraft [in Iran]. “The organization [Mahan Air] has the appropriate material base, certificates, and significant expertise, and the supplier performs maintenance with a high degree of quality,” an Aeroflot spokeswoman stated.
In addition to Western restrictions prohibiting Russian aircraft from traveling over US and EU airspace, rules prohibit enterprises from doing maintenance on the carrier’s jets or providing spare parts.
Due to its own sanctions, Iran is believed to have accumulated vast knowledge in airplane maintenance over a number of decades.
Iran, a Russian ally, opposes Western sanctions as well, making it a valuable partner for Aeroflot.
In March 2022, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev stated that the government will exploit “Iran’s expertise” to avoid Western sanctions.
Aeroflot historically utilized Hong Kong-based HAECO for aircraft maintenance. In 2021, the airline struck a long-term agreement with a Chinese MRO contractor for service and repairs.
Aeroflot operates around 170 aircraft built by Airbus and Boeing.
