russia Is Returning Old Planes to Service Due to an Acute Shortage of Aircraft Fleet

In 2026–2027, russian airlines plan to massively introduce into service mothballed soviet and foreign-made planes, most of which are more than 30 years old. This is a necessary step given the reduction in the aircraft fleet and the lack of opportunities for its full renewal.

As part of the renewal program, which has been extended until 2027, 10 of the 12 planned planes have already been returned to service, including the Tu-204/214, Il-96, and An-148. In 2026–2027, it is planned to transfer two more refurbished Tu-204s, despite their moral and technical obsolescence.

In parallel, russian airlines are forced to recommission foreign planes. In particular, rossiya airline is increasing its fleet of Boeing 747s, inherited after the bankruptcy of transaero. Airliners that are more than 20 years old are returning to service after many years of storage, in particular due to a 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 crisis is especially acute in cargo aviation: air freight traffic dropped from 9.2 billion ton-kilometers in 2021 to 1.9 billion in 2024.