These aircraft can be replaced with new ones no earlier than 2023-2025 . Carriers warned of problems with the repair of AN-24 and AN-26 engines due to the closure of the plant in Rostov-on-Don. This may lead to the suspension of flights on these aircraft. They are used for transportation in at least ten regions
Russian airlines operating regional AN-24 and AN-26 aircraft complained to the authorities about problems with the repair of turboprop engines due to the closure of the Rostov Civil Aviation Plant No. 412. "This means that all aircraft of the AN-24 and AN-26 type available in Russian airlines, after a maximum of five to six months will stop," warned the general director of the airline "IrAero" Yuri Lapin in a letter to the authorities. It was sent on March 4 to Denis Manturov, Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Alexander Neradko, Head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, and Anatoly Seryshev, Presidential Envoy to the Siberian Federal District. RBC has a copy of the letter, its authenticity was confirmed by a source close to IrAero.
What happened to the plant
The Rostov plant will stop repairing engines for the AN-24 and AN-26 on March 31, a source at the enterprise told RBC. According to him, this information has been brought to all airlines flying AN-24 and AN-26.
Each AN-24/26 is equipped with two Ukrainian-made AI-24 turboprop engines. The Rostov plant repaired about 60 engines annually, the source told RBC. He explains the closure of production by the decision of the owner, the Agrocom group Ivan Savvidi, and the termination of work in 2017 of the old civil airport in Rostov, which is why the plant stopped accepting aircraft for repair.
It will now be possible to repair AI-24 engines in Russia only at the Aramil Aviation Repair Plant in the Sverdlovsk Region, which until 2013 belonged to The Ministry of Defense, and then was transferred to the "daughter" of Rostec United Engine Corporation. The company in Aramil "simply will not be able to master such volumes of repairs," Lapin's letter says. It repairs "for a very long time, a very small number [of engines] and is still loaded with defense orders, civilian engines are [accepted] on a residual basis," he explained to RBC.
The authorities are already aware of the problems. Neradko has already asked Sergey Sapotnitsky, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Rostov Civil Aviation Plant (a copy of the letter from the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency dated March 18 is at the disposal of RBC, its authenticity was confirmed by the manager of one of the An-24/26 operators) either not to close the plant, or to propose measures to transfer production to other profile enterprises. The head of the department wrote that a decision on the fate of the plant should be taken as soon as possible to offset the consequences of Western sanctions against Russia. At the end of February, the European Union banned the supply of foreign aircraft to the Russian market and its maintenance.
"To dump all repairs on one plant (Aramilsky. - RBC) is not quite right," said Sergey Salamatov, director of Angara Airlines, because this will negatively affect the cost and timing of engine repairs, which may eventually lead to aircraft downtime. Alexander Lukin, General Director of the Kostroma Aviation Enterprise, agrees with this opinion. According to him, the Aramil plant has already begun to limit the repair offer. "Difficulties may arise, since one plant will not be able to fully meet the entire need of Russian airlines for engine repairs," says Semyon Vinokurov, CEO of Polar Airlines.
The Aramil plant "quietly lets civilian customers in," it has the resources for this, the head of Chukotavia, Tomas Troyanovsky, objects. According to Vinokurov, Polar Airlines has agreed with the Aramil plant to repair engines: "A schedule and a plan for joint work have been drawn up."
But in any case, the termination of the Rostov plant will complicate the maintenance of the AN-24/26 airworthiness, the top managers of two more airlines - KrasAvia and ALROSA indicate. The closure of the plant in Rostov "raises concerns", but will "slightly" affect the operation of the AN-24/26 in Polar Airlines, Vinokurov notes. RBC sent requests to the Aramil Aviation Repair Plant and to the press service of the United Engine Corporation.
The press service of the Rostov Civil Aviation Plant declined to comment. RBC sent requests to the press services of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Federal Air Transport Agency, Seryshev's office and the Agrocom group.
Who flies AN-24 and AN-26
The AN-24/26 aircraft, designed to carry cargo and passengers (up to 52 people), were produced until the mid-1980s. "Despite the significant age of these aircraft, they remain in operation in the regions, on the network with unpaved runways and in areas with a low level of effective demand for air transportation," Neradko said at an expanded board of the Federal Air Transport Agency in mid-March. According to him, their replacement with more modern aircraft is ineffective or impossible.
In Russia, 100 AN-24/26 aircraft are used, 87 of them are operated by 12 commercial airlines from ten regions (including within the framework of programs to subsidize flights bypassing Moscow and inside the Far East ). Among them are Yakutia, Komi, Kamchatka, Chukotka, Magadan and Irkutsk regions, Khabarovsk Territory, etc.
According to the Federal Air Transport Agency for February 2022, the largest operator of the AN-24/26 "IrAero" has 20 such machines, Utair - 12, Polar Airlines and Angara - 11 each. In the fleet of each of the other eight carriers - less than ten AN-24/26. According to the Transport Clearing House, 766 thousand people and 10 thousand tons of cargo were transported by AN-24/26 aircraft in 2019. The average flight distance of a passenger on these machines did not exceed 1 thousand km. "In the regions where our airline's planes fly, there are no railways or ordinary roads. What will the people fly on?!" Lapin writes in a letter to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the presidential envoy in Siberia.
Indirect confirmation of the indispensability of these aircraft is the extension of their service life from 50 to 60 years ( for the AN-24 ) and from 40 to 50 years ( for the AN-26 ), and further extension is being discussed, said Oleg Panteleev, Executive director of the Aviation industry agency.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the Ural Civil Aviation Plant are preparing two aircraft to replace the AN-24/26 - IL-114-300 and Ladoga, respectively. But the IL-114-300 will start arriving in airlines no earlier than 2023, and Ladoga - no earlier than 2025 . The UAC continues work on the IL-114-300 program, its press service said, without specifying details. RBC sent a request to the press service of the Ural Civil Aviation Plant.
Now there is practically nothing to replace the AN-24/26 with and serious work is needed to extend their airworthiness for at least another few years, warned Alexey Sinitsky, Director of Research and Development at Infomost Consulting: "As part of this work, it is necessary to form a coordinated system for repairing engines and components, as well as manufacturing the necessary components and supplies of consumables."
Author: Artem Korenyako
