US bans Russia’s Aeroflot, others from receiving parts

Bloomberg

The US issued orders suspending Aeroflot PJSC, Russia’s biggest airline, and two others from receiving US parts and services for their planes, a step that officials expect over time will limit their ability to fly.
The denial orders for Aeroflot, Azur Air, and UTair Aviation PJSC announced by the Commerce Department mark the first enforcement action for violation of US export controls imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Some of the airlines’ planes were previously identified by Commerce among more than 100 commercial and private planes of US origin that kept flying to or within Russia without authorisation. The action expands that move to target the entire fleet.
The airlines “will over time largely be unable to continue flying either internationally or domestically, as they are now cut off from the international support and the US parts and related services they need to maintain and support their fleets,” Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, told reporters.
The action against the Russian airlines is the latest in a string of sanctions against the nation following allegations of atrocities in Ukraine by Russian forces. The US announced penalties on two of Russia’s largest banks and President Vladimir Putin’s daughters.
Azur Air’s fleet of 34 planes is composed entirely of Boeing planes of US origin, which means the company won’t be able to service or maintain them and likely will stop the carrier from flying altogether, Commerce officials said. For UTair, 48 out of their 63 planes are of US origin, while for Aeroflot it’s 59 out
of 187.
While UTair and Aeroflot fly some planes that aren’t made in the US — mainly Airbus SE — those aircraft could be affected too if more than 25% of their value comes from American content subject to export controls, the officials said.
The US is already seeing a significant impact from its exports controls announced in the past six weeks, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves told reporters. Exports to Russia of items subject to new licensing requirements have fallen 99% by value compared with the same period in 2021, and 33 nations have formally joined the US in imposing controls, he said.
The denial orders for the airlines announced are issued for up to 180 days and may be renewed, Graves said. “Today, we further demonstrate the power of the rule of law, as well as the consequences for those who seek to flout it,” he said.