The press service of the Russian Transport Ministry reported on Saturday (17), in response to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) warning about the threat to the safety of flights on the aircraft of Russian airlines that the country is still adhering to international standards.
«The safety of flights on the aircraft of Russian airlines is guaranteed at a high level and meets all international standards. Thus, the information of ICAO, which issued a «warning about the threat to the safety of flights of Russian airlines», does not correspond to the real state of affairs,» the report said.
As noted in the Transport Ministry, ICAO’s doubts about flight safety arose as a result of the so-called «double» registration of aircraft. At the same time, maintenance and control over the airworthiness of re-registered aircraft continue to be carried out under the leadership of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) in accordance with world aviation rules, the ministry added.
According to the Transport Ministry’s press service, at the opening of the ICAO Assembly on September 27, the Russian side will convey to its colleagues the position that the unilateral decisions of several countries to close their airspace to Russian carriers and suspend airworthiness certificates are purely political in nature.
«In addition, ICAO is currently considering a complaint by the Russian Federation against the aeronautical authorities of Bermuda, which are responsible for the so-called ‘double’ registration of aircraft,» the message adds.
As per our media partner Aeroin, soon after the invasion of Ukraine and introduction of Western sanctions, Russia launched an accelerated procedure of re-registration of foreign aircraft to the Russian registry. This action came against the backdrop of the decision by the aeronautical authorities in Bermuda and Ireland (where most of the Russian airlines’ aircraft were registered) to revoke the certificates of airworthiness of foreign-made aircraft used by Russian carriers.
This decision was made allegedly due to the inability of the authorities in these countries to verify the safety of the aircraft. According to the Russian Federation, such a move by the aeronautical authorities of Bermuda and Ireland was «the actual denial of these authorities of control over aircraft and responsibility for compliance with the relevant provisions of the Chicago Convention.»
