Aeroflot Secures Ownership of 18 Aircraft in a Major Settlement with AerCap

Aiming to restore the sanctions-hit aviation market, Russia has started settling western lessors claims regarding seized airplanes. Aeroflot has successfully acquired 18 aircraft and 5 aircraft engines from the Irish lessor AerCap, a transaction facilitated by the involvement of NSK Insurance Company and the financial backing of Russia’s National Welfare Fund.

The recent agreement signifies the termination of AerCap’s claims against Russian entities, involving both insurance policies underwritten by Russian insurers and leasing contracts with Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines.

The move comes as part of a larger shift within the Russian aviation industry, with efforts underway to re-register aircraft from foreign to Russian ownership, thus removing them from Bermuda and Irish registers and expanding their territories of flight.The Russian government claims that it is a «strategic change» that forms part of a broader move «towards economic and logistic sovereignty», but the reality is way simpler: the situation of the aircraft, seized just after the invasion of Ukraine, was legally unsustainable.

The Role of the National Welfare Fund and NSK Insurance

The involvement of both the National Welfare Fund and NSK Insurance Company cannot be understated in this transaction. The National Welfare Fund (NWF), a part of Russia’s federal budget assets, has been instrumental in financially backing this move.

The Russian Ministry of Finance oversees the National Wealth Fund, which purchased a majority stake in Sberbank from the Central Bank in 2020. Between 2023 and 2025, the NWF’s expenditures are capped at 8 trillion rubles ($114 billion). As of December 2022, the fund comprised 4.3 trillion rubles in long-term investments and 6.1 trillion rubles in liquid assets.

Following the onset of the Ukraine war, Russia accelerated its divestment from Euros, intending to replace it predominantly with Chinese yuan and gold, capping them at 60% and 40% of the liquid fund value respectively by the end of 2023.

On the other hand, Kyrgyzstan’s NSK Insurance Company has played a critical role in facilitating the settlement process, ensuring that the transition of assets occurs smoothly and with the necessary legal and financial securities in place.

Companies Taking Charge

While other airlines are at various stages of negotiations and approvals, companies like Ural Airlines and iFly are already making strides, agreeing on the allocation of funds for aircraft purchases.