Russia Grounds Czech L-410 Planes Due to Lack of Parts

L-410 is a twin-engine short-range plane, produced by the Czech company Aircraft Industries, is a popular choice for Russian regional air carriers, operating in remote and sparsely populated areas with difficult terrain.

Versatile Czech-designed aircraft can take between 17 and 19 passengers on board and is also available in a cargo modification.

But today, the officials in Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Region announced that the operation of L-410 aircraft has been suspended in the region.

According to the reports, the flights ofL-410s had been halted due to the lack of spare parts that had occurred as a result of the European Union sanctions imposed on Russia over its atrocious war of aggression launched against Ukraine.

The grounding of the L-410 fleet was confirmed by the press services of both the regional Kamchatka government and the Avrora carrier, a subsidiary of Aeroflot which operates domestic and international flights in the Russian Far East region and co-owns the Kamchatka Air Enterprise that operates Czech-made aircraft.

The operating lifespan of some parts and systems on L-410s has ended, making them legally unusable under the Russian law, a representative of the Kamchatka authorities said.

“Such a situation has been caused by difficulties with supplies [of spare parts] using the parallel import mechanism,” the official added.

‘Parallel import’ is a new Russian term for a borderline contraband procurement of goods and services without the manufacturers’ or rights owners’ consent, via the third countries.

According to the source in Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, the use of alternative supply channels has led to significant complications with logistics chains, an increase in prices, and delays in deliveries.

Avrora representative said that the Czech planes will return to the air as soon as the issues with the supply of spare parts are resolved.

The carrier said that, in the meantime, other types of aircraft will be used to transport passengers across the Kamchatka Peninsula. Kamchatka Air Enterprise reportedly also operates old Soviet-designed An-26, An-28, Yak-40 planes, and helicopters of the Mi-8 family.

Earlier this year, another remote Russian region, the Komi Republic, also grounded its L-410 fleet, citing EU sanctions and a lack of spare aircraft parts.