Russia to guard against cannibalising planes for parts, minister tells Vedomosti

Reuters
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FILE PHOTO: Aircraft of Russian airline Aeroflot is pictured at Cointrin airport in Geneva

(Reuters) - Russia's aviation sector will do everything it can to avoid the "total cannibalisation" of aircraft for spare parts, industry and trade minister Denis Manturov has told the Vedomosti business newspaper, as the impact of sanctions bites.

"Everything is being done to prevent this (total cannibalisation) from happening. Much depends on how intensively the aircraft fleet will be used and how timely they are serviced," Manturov said in an interview published on Thursday.

Manturov said that components could be moved between aircraft "for the prompt restoration of airworthiness", but that he was not aware of cases of full cannibalisation of planes for their spare parts.

In August, Reuters reported that Russian airlines, including state-controlled Aeroflot, were stripping jetliners to secure spare parts they can no longer buy abroad because of Western sanctions, citing four industry sources.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jason Neely)