Russia returns old aircraft to service due to air fleet shortage – intelligence
According to Ukrinform, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine stated this on its website.
It is noted that this step is forced amid a reduction of the air fleet and the lack of opportunities for its full renewal.
According to intelligence data, under a recovery program extended until 2027, 10 of the 12 planned aircraft have already been returned to service, including Tu-204/214, Il-96, and An-148 aircraft.
In addition, in 2026–2027 it is planned to transfer two more refurbished Tu-204 aircraft into operation, despite their moral and technical obsolescence.
At the same time, Russian airlines are being forced to un-mothball foreign-made aircraft. In particular, the airline "Rossiya" is expanding its fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft inherited after the bankruptcy of "Transaero".
Thus, airliners that are more than 20 years old are being returned to flight after many years of storage, in particular due to the lack of alternative equipment.
"As of October 2025, the fleets of the largest Russian airlines had 1,135 aircraft, of which 1,088 were in operation. At this, 67% of the fleet were foreign-made aircraft, the maintenance of which is complicated by sanctions and a shortage of spare parts," the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine emphasized, adding that the crisis is especially acute in cargo aviation: air cargo turnover fell from 9.2 billion tonne-kilometers in 2021 to 1.9 billion in 2024.
As Ukrinform reported, according to the results of 2025, cargo transportation volumes of the Russian railway monopoly RZD also experienced a sharp decline.
