The Russian An-124 enters EU airspace without a ban

Two Volga Dnipro Ilyushin IL-76TD-90VD, registration numbers RA-76511 and RA-76950, are flying through European Union airspace this month, landing at Brno-Turžany Airport (BRQ) in the Czech Republic despite a ban on aircraft registered in Russia, because Russiainvasion of Ukraine. According to local media, the planes were released by the authorities and landed in a European country for delivery “important cargo”.

Fly to the European Union

This is not the first Russian plane to fly through the European Union after Russia invaded Ukraine and fell under sanctions. For example, Slovakia made an exception in March, allowing another Il-76 of the Volga-Dnepr airline to land in Bratislava. The plane brought much-needed fuel, and local authorities granted special permission for the Russian plane to fly into restricted airspace.

In September, two Volga IL-76s with registration numbers RA-76511 and RA-76590 took off from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME) to Brno (BRQ). Instead of flying through Belarus and Poland, the plane was to head for the Baltic Sea, crossing the ocean between Finland and Estonia before heading south and entering the Czech Republic via Germany. The total flight time was three and a half hours.

RA-76511 made only one flight between Russia and the Czech Republic. RA-76950 has scheduled three round trips between both countries from September 6 to 10. This was reported by the press secretary of the Ministry of Transport Francishak Yamelka.

“In accordance with the directly applicable EU regulation, the Ministry of Transport issued an exemption for the Russian air carrier “Volga-Dnepr” for flights to or from the Czech Republic for the purpose of transporting specific goods in the strategic interests of the Czech Republic and other countries. EU member states, for the reason that there is currently no available alternative to air transport.

Fuel needs

ČEZ Group Chief Spokesman Ladislav Krizh confirmed that the Volga Dnepr airline was transporting fuel assemblies for the Temelin nuclear power plant located in the Czech Republic. It was an effective contract stemming from last year’s order, he added, saying that the transportation of nuclear fuel is exempt from the safety of production from those sources and that similar shipments continue to other countries.

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Volga-Dnepr operated this flight at least once, landing at Bratislava’s Rostislav Stefanik Airport in Milan.

Russia has banned flights into European airspace

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the European Union banned Russian planes and companies from flying in its airspace. Russia retaliated, adding many hours of flight time to commercial airlines in Europe and many headaches for the commercial aviation industry on both sides of the border.

For example, sanctions were imposed Russia is betting on home-made components, reducing its dependence on imports. Domestic airlines are also unable to take on backlogs from Airbus and Boeing (and have gone in-house instead; e.g. Aeroflot placed an order for 339 aircraft of its own production).

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Source: Czech Republic Postsen, Business Insider.