The war between Russia and Ukraine has put many countries in Europe and outside in an uncomfortable situation. Many companies are also in tight positions because of the various sanctions imposed by the West on Russia for invading Ukraine.
And now the war has impacted many aviation companies in Europe which are already reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the Western sanctions on Russia, hundreds of aircraft leases with Russian airlines stand terminated as the contracts are cancelled.
Most of BOC Aviation's aircraft in Russia would be affected by European Union sanctions that require the leases to be terminated by March 28. Russian companies have 980 passenger jets in service, of which Boeing 777 are leased, according to analytics firm Cirium.
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Of the 980 passenger jets, two-thirds that is 515 jets, with an estimated market value of about USD 10 billion, are rented from foreign firms, mainly Ireland-based industry. The world's biggest leasing company, Dublin headquartered AerCap Holdings has given 152 planes on lease.
And needless to say the company, which as of December 31, has 5% of its fleet leased to Russian carriers, will face the direct brunt of the economic sanctions on Russia by the United States and European Union.
The world's second biggest leasing company Avolon, headquartered in Ireland, has fewer than 20 airplanes in Russia and one or two in Ukraine out of a total fleet of more than 550 aircraft, CEO Dómhnal Slattery told Reuters this month. Avolon was concerned that sanctions on international payment transfers through SWIFT could make it hard for airlines to pay their bills.
