Belavia (B2, Minsk National) has secured a permit from Russia’s civil aviation regulator (Rosaviatsiya) to carry out maintenance on aircraft in the fleets of Russian airlines “from operational work to A checks, C checks, and D checks,” the Belarusian flag carrier announced in a statement on its website.
“According to the results of a certification audit” conducted by Rosaviatsiya, Belavia said it had “received Maintenance Organisation Certificate No. 285-23-019.” Gaining the licence “confirms the compliance of the airline’s activities with the requirements” of Russia’s federal aviation regulations for companies providing MRO services (FAP-285), it said.
“The certificate grants Belavia the right to carry out a permitted list of operations for the operational and periodic maintenance of aircraft registered in the Russian Federation, as well as for the maintenance of certain categories of components installed on these aircraft,” it explained.
Belavia has extensive maintenance capabilities, it added, and “over the years of the airline’s existence, we have been able to gather high-level professionals who carry out maintenance of varying levels of complexity,” said General Director Igor Tcherginets. “Obtaining this certificate is further confirmation of the professionalism of our engineering and technical staff.”
Before the imposition of international sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian airlines tended to repair their foreign-made aircraft in the United States and Europe. Since then, the European Union and the US have banned the supply of aircraft and spare parts to Russia and obligated lessors to terminate contracts with Russian airlines. Russia’s airlines have been lobbying the authorities for their fleets of Airbus and Boeing aircraft to be serviced less frequently.
According to ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data, MRO work on Russian aircraft in Minsk may have already started. On March 16, smartavia (5N, Arkhangelsk Talagi) B737-800 RA-73660 (msn 36819) was ferried to Minsk from Moscow Sheremetyevo where it remains in maintenance. The Russian carrier does not currently operate scheduled flights to Belarus, the ch-aviation capacities module shows.
