International Civil Aviation Organization puts a red flag on Russia for dual registration of aircraft

Until September 14, ICAO was waiting for explanations from the Russian side and, having not received them, put up a "red flag" for our aviators.

Yekaterina Maksimova

Andrey Patrakov, founder of the international network of AIM Group experts previously explained that ICAO pointed out problems in the field of flight safety and ship maintenance back in the summer. As the telegram channel "Aviatorschina" clarifies, Russia has the "airworthiness" indicator in the "red" zone.

“ICAO threatened to put a “red flag” on Russia three months ago if the Russian authorities do not deal with “there is a significant and still unresolved problem in the field of flight safety” before September 14. We are talking about double registration prohibited by Article 18 of the Chicago Convention aircraft. It says that an aircraft cannot be legally registered in more than one state, "the authors of Aviatorshchina specify.

Thus, in June, ICAO representative Anthony Philbin warned Russia that if the problem is not resolved, then in September our country's aviators will be officially issued a "red flag". Their organization uses to inform countries that are members of ICAO. "Flags" appear on the official ICAO website in the section where the results of flight safety audits are published .

Until now, only two countries, Bhutan and Eritrea, have received such a label from ICAO . Any airport in the world, without explanation, referring only to the "red flag" from ICAO, may refuse to service the aircraft of these states.

"ICAO does not prohibit, but only notifies. And the aviation authorities of each country, on the basis of this verdict, decide for themselves how to deal with this. But the point of ICAO is precisely that all states comply with the standards. Air legislation is different for everyone and for international air traffic it is necessary harmonize it. Those who follow ICAO will receive an official warning: Russian aviation does not meet international safety standards. And the same Turkey, Egypt, or even friendly Belarus, absolutely legitimately, referring only to a notification from ICAO, can stop letting our ships in," Andrey Patrakov explained to "NI" earlier.

The problem of dual registration of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, which Russian airlines bought on lease until February 2022, was, of course, not resolved by September.

Aviation expert Oleg Panteleev explained that aircraft that were previously registered in the registries of third countries, for example, in Bermuda, were transferred to Russian registration numbers (amendments were made to Russian aviation legislation in the spring, allowing the re-registration of ships without the consent of the owner, - note .ed.). At the same time, part of the aircraft from foreign registries remained not withdrawn. In two registries - Russian and Bermuda - "Aviatorshchina" evaluates, as of September 13, there were 560 aircraft left, which are used by our aviators.

"NI" reported in detail that before the start of the NVO, there were no problems with foreign aircraft that Russian airlines bought on lease. The passenger fleet, if we omit all the complex technical and legal issues, was not registered in Russia. And foreign aviation authorities were responsible for flight safety, because almost the entire fleet was registered abroad. Of the domestic on board, if exaggerated, there were only passengers, crew and fuel. After the introduction of sanctions by Western countries, it turned out that in Russia there is no certified structure that is capable of being responsible for servicing air passenger transport.

Andrey Patrakov believes that the problem can be solved in at least one way: by appointing a developer within Russia, who, according to the aviation rules (FAR, part 21), will act as the so-called type certificate holder for all foreign aircraft and engines in the Russian Federation.

"Whoever certifies the aircraft is responsible for it. Previously, Airbus and Boeing were engaged in this, but since March 2022 they have ceased their duties unilaterally. To which our aviation authorities did not respond. In a good way, Rosaviatsia should revoke the certificates and land all aircraft on the territory of Russia. Next, appoint a competent and certified developer within our country," Patrakov explained.

The ICAO General Assembly will be held from 27 September to 7 October. And the status organization, which is confirmed by the program of the meeting, will once again discuss Russian aviation. As a result of the assembly, most likely, ICAO will issue an official verdict that Russia does not comply with aviation law. What ICAO will immediately notify all participants about.