European authorities accuse Russia of “stealing” chartered planes abroad

Senior European officials on Friday accused Russia of “stealing” hundreds of chartered planes abroad, by allowing these planes to be registered on its soil, which represents billions of euros in losses for lessors.

And this information was published Friday by the French news agency (AFP), which says that Russian airlines have until Monday to return the planes, under the European Union aviation sanctions imposed by the European Union after Russian forces invaded the airport.Ukraine.

The dispute revolves around a law passed by President Vladimir Putin on March 14 that allows the country’s airlines to register in Russia for planes they charter abroad so they can fly with them in the country.

And AFP explains that the measure allows companies to continue to use the planes for domestic flights, but they will be booked if they travel abroad.

“Most of the planes they (the Russians) can take abroad are charter planes, of European or American origin, that have now been stolen from their rightful owners, the lessors,” said European Commission Director General of Transport Henrik. Agence France-Presse quoted Hololi.

By re-registering the aircraft in Russia, the country’s authorities “seriously violated the laws of international air transport, the Basic Law of Civil Aviation, the Chicago Convention”, Hololey accused, during an online conference of the European traffic control body. (Eurocontrol).

“The Russians have stolen a huge amount of goods,” said Eamon Brennan, Director General of European Supervision, explaining that “there are about 10 billion euros in goods, and more than 500 planes seized by the Russians and registered in Russia, which creates a very difficult situation for European real estate owners and insurance companies. “.

On March 12, the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, where several hundred Russian aircraft were registered, announced that it would withdraw its certification the next day, paving the way for a flight ban.

According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, as of March 11, Russian Airlines operated 1,367 aircraft, more than half (739) of which were registered abroad.