Russia approves UAE-based Global Jet Technic to repair Airbus, Boeing aircraft

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (FAVT), also known as Rosaviatsiya, has approved the Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Global Jet Technic to maintain Russian-registered Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

“On February 8, 2023, Rosaviatsiya, within the framework of the National Civil Aviation Infrastructure Exhibition NAIS-2023, awarded the Global Jet Technic maintenance organization operating in the United Arab Emirates with a certificate of conformity,” read the agency’s statement published to social media network Telegram on February 13, 2023. According to Rosaviatsiya, the certificate proves that Global Jet Technic complies with “requirements for legal entities, individual entrepreneurs engaged in maintenance of civil aircraft.”

The certificate provides the Dubai, UAE-based Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) company to “carry out maintenance of Boeing 737, Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, and Airbus A330 aircraft,” the statement concluded.

According to the company’s website, it specializes in line maintenance, spare parts, tools, hangar slots, and manpower in the UAE market. It is approved by authorities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bermuda (where, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many of the country’s aircraft were registered), Cayman Islands, Egypt, India, and Pakistan.

On March 22, 2022, almost a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, Bermuda’s Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) suspended all airworthiness certificates of aircraft operated under an agreement between BCAA and Rosaviatsiya.

Furthermore, Global Jet Technic states it has professional expertise on the Airbus A320ceo/neo and A330 families, as well as Boeing’s 737 CL, NG, MAX, 777-200/300, and 787 aircraft. Russia-based S7, Nordwind Airlines, and Azur Air are listed among its customers.

In early January 2023, Aeroflot bought 10 Boeing 777s left stranded in Russia by various Irish aircraft leasing companies. Previously, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov stated that local airlines were not cannibalizing aircraft for parts en masse.

Russia has been hit with numerous sanction packages from the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), limiting its ability to procure aircraft and parts for foreign-made aircraft operated by Russian carriers. According to Alexader Neradko, the head of Rosaviatsiya, who gave an interview to local media in early February 2023, local airlines have re-registered more than 180 aircraft onto the Russian registry so far.

Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, airlines operated around 805 aircraft registered in Bermuda (768) and Ireland (37), Neradko claimed.