Ukrainian Antonov agreed to service An-124 Ruslan aircraft owned by Russian company
The Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer, Antonov, will conduct and assessment of the technical condition of the Ruslan aircraft belonging to the Russian cargo airline, Volga-Dnepr. The statement from the aircraft manufacturer, published on Friday, November 3rd, says that the company, as a developer of aircraft, is the "certificate holder for the An-type aircraft, in particular the An-124-100 transport aircraft, Ruslan. "That is why the maintenance of this aircraft is the sole responsibility of Antonov State Enterprise," the document says.
The statement emphasizes that if Antonov and Kyiv do not fulfill their obligations under international rules and Ukrainian legislation, international sanctions may be applied against them. In particular, international flights of An-type aircraft may be banned, and the functions of the developer can be transferred to other bodies as authorized by the country operating the aircraft.
"According to civil aviation agency regulations, representatives of the developer organization must remain as contact persons when solving problems that may require the development of corrective measures," the Ukrainian state-owned company says.
The Antonov statement specifically notes that the Volga-Dnepr airline is not included on the list of companies to which Kyiv has imposed sanctions. In addition, the Ruslan aircraft has a certificate of civil aircraft registration and can be used solely "to meet the needs of citizens and the economy."
Earlier that day, the Ukrainian People's Front Party appealed to the government and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) with a request to verify information on the resumption of servicing the Volga-Dnepr’s Ruslan aircraft by Antonov. "It is necessary to create a special commission to determine whether sanctions were violated based on the decisions of the National Security and Defense Council, and whether there was a violation of the established procedure for the export of dual-use services," the People's Front statement says.
Activities between Antonov and Volga-Dnepr in the sphere of air transportation of cargo was discontinued in 2016.