The revised list was announced on June 24, 2024, and features Ekaterinburg-based Ural Airlines, one of Russia精东影业 largest airlines, air logistics company Volga-Dnepr, and airport operator Novaport.   

Several top managers and prominent shareholders at the Volga-Dnepr Group have also been included in the list of sanctioned individuals on account of the services the air freight operator provides to the Russian government and war industry. 

The cargo airline was also added to 听

As of June 2024, the Volga-Dnepr Group operates a fleet of 22 large cargo aircraft, including 12 Antonov An-124 鈥淩uslan鈥�, five Boeing 747-8F and five IL-76TD-90VD aircraft. 

Ural Airlines has an all-Airbus fleet of 52 aircraft, including one A320 that has been stranded in a field in Siberia since September 2023 after performing an emergency landing.听

Novaport Holding has been sanctioned because some of the airports in its network have dual civilian-military use and have serviced aircraft operating flights to Simferopol International Airport (SIP) in Crimea. Novaport manages 23 airport facilities across Russia. 

While included on the sanctions list, EU member states may freeze any funds belonging to or linked to the designated entities and individuals and forbid engaging in transactions with them or making economic resources available to them. 

Canada and the United States have also recently sanctioned Russian low-cost airline and Aeroflot subsidiary Pobeda. 

The tragic incident occurred on May 19, 2024 when the A320, bound for Manas International Airport (FRU) in Bishkek, began taxiing prematurely.

Disturbing footage of the moment this happened was captured and uploaded to several social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter).

The footage shows the airport worker, identified as Rail, aged 32, standing under the 77-ton A320. The plane can be seen taxiing while Rail is still underneath the aircraft. 

鈥淲hile taxiing from the aircraft parking lot, the technician suffered a leg injury,鈥� a spokesperson for Ural Airlines told . 鈥淎n ambulance was called to the scene, and the circumstances are being clarified.鈥�

The aircraft精东影业 pilot was removed from the flight, and after a three and a half hour delay, the plane left for Bishkek.

According to The Sun, the pilot, who is yet to be identified, has been interrogated and was found to be in violation of safety rules that resulted in serious harm to health through negligence.

Meanwhile, the airport worker in question required emergency amputation surgery, and is still reported to be unconscious.听

Hong Kong airport ground worker accidentally killed by aircraft being towed

• Airport
• Aviation Safety

byJean Carmela Lim

2024-02-06

On September 12, 2023, the Airbus A320 with 167 people onboard was forced to land in a Russian wheat field after the aircraft ran out of fuel while diverting to Novosibirsk Airport (OVB).听听

For months following the accident rumors swelled that the A320 would take off once the ground had frozen in winter temperatures or that it would be cut into pieces and airlifted from the field by helicopters.  

On April 11, 2024, news outlet reported that Ural Airlines said it had spent 鈥�9.27 million rubles鈥� ($99,000) on payments to the farmer that owned the field, security, fencing and containers since the aircraft became stranded.听听

Ural Airlines also told TASS that it did not have a plan to return the Airbus A320 aircraft to flights, something that was also widely reported on other Russian news websites.  

In an additional statement to , Ural Airlines said: 鈥淲e are assessing all the risks and are inclined to not use this aircraft in commercial operation, taking into account the fact that in the current conditions there is no support from the manufacturer Airbus.鈥澨� 听

On April 11, 2024, the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsiya) also published an investigation report that said the incident arose out of multiple violations and errors made by the crew. 

Part of the report seen by 精东影业 said that the pilots diverted to OVB as they knew the hydraulic system affecting the aircraft could be repaired there.  

The report said that the crew were concerned that if they landed at their designated destination at Omsk Tsentralny Airport (OMS) it would go against company advice to try and land at airports where there are trained technical personnel to perform troubleshooting work. 

The report also said that the Ural Airlines board will decide whether two deputy general directors responsible for safety on flights should remain in their positions. 

精东影业 first reported in November 2023, that the Ural Airline Airbus A320 would be dismantled.  

At the time Ural Airlines said, 鈥渘o decisions will be made until the end of the investigation鈥�.听听听听

Ural Airlines Airbus A320 stranded in field to be 鈥榙ismantled鈥�, sources claim听

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-01-11

, a Russian aviation Telegram channel, said that after a thorough evaluation has been completed, the decision has been made to dismantle the plane for parts and not attempt to fly the Airbus A320 out of the field as was previously proposed.听

The Telegram channel reported on January 10, 2024, that financial restraints meant any further attempts to rescue the plane intact had been exhausted.  

All assets on the Ural Airlines plane that can be reused in the future will be removed and transported from the field.  

There has been no official statement by Ural Airlines, and when approached by the Russian website , the airlines said, 鈥渘o decisions will be made until the end of the investigation鈥�.听听

The fate of the aircraft reportedly hinged on negotiations with the insurance firm, AlfaStrakhovanie. 

On January 10, 2024, 精东影业 reported that Ural Airlines had paid the owner of the wheat field a year精东影业 rent to cover their costs until September 2024.  

鈥淭here was a decision that the ground would freeze 鈥� they would take off. But the ground is frozen 鈥� they don鈥檛 take off. The airline entered into a lease agreement with the owner of the field for a year. And then 鈥� I don鈥檛 know what will happen, maybe they鈥檒l conclude a contract for another year,鈥� the head of the Ubinsky District in Russia, Oleg Konyuk, said on January 9, 2024. 

On September 12, 2023, the flight crew aboard the A320 were forced to land in the field just outside Novosibirsk, in southern Siberia while diverting to Novosibirsk Airport (OVB).听

The aircraft had been due to land at Omsk Tsentralny Airport (OMS) but the Airbus A320 experienced a failure of its hydraulic system and selected to land at OVB instead.  

After an initial report into the incident was published on October 31, 2023, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia (Rosaviatsiya) came out and said a new investigation was needed due to 鈥渘ewly discovered circumstances鈥�.   

Izvestia then reported on November 17, 2023, that Rosaviatsiya had 鈥渋dentified 15 errors and contradictions鈥� with the original report.   

Among its concerns the Russian agency was particularly troubled by the 鈥渦nacceptably low level鈥� of the pilots training and discrepancies found in the report. 

The pilots were asked to resign but they refused.听

Ural Airlines pays farmer year精东影业 rent for wheat field holding stranded Airbus

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2024-01-10

The story of the troubled A320 jet captured the global media精东影业 attention, as people speculated whether the aircraft would be flown out of the field or be cut up and transported away by road.听听

To this day, the Ural Airlines plane remains in the field just outside Novosibirsk, in southern Siberia, protected by 24-hour private security in a fenced off area.听听

Since the emergency landing different stories have emerged about the plane’s fate.  

One report following the incident said that the airline was waiting for the ground to harden before attempting to fly the Airbus A320 out of the field while another in November 2023 said the project was to be 鈥渕othballed鈥� until spring 2024.听听

However, on January 9, 2024, a clearer insight into the true nature of the plane精东影业 immediate future emerged following comments by the head of the Ubinsky District in Russia, Oleg Konyuk.听

According to the region精东影业 head, Ural Airlines entered into a lease agreement with the field精东影业 owner to rent the field where the stranded jet lies for a year, and this could yet be extended for longer.  

鈥淭here was a decision that the ground would freeze – they would take off. But the ground is frozen – they don鈥檛 take off. The airline entered into a lease agreement with the owner of the field for a year. And then – I don鈥檛 know what will happen, maybe they鈥檒l conclude a contract for another year,鈥� Konyuk said.  

According to , the agreement currently runs until September 2024 and saw the airline paying over $11,000.听听

Ural Airlines denies jet cannot take off from field as PAX paid compensation

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2023-11-24

According to a statement by S7 Airlines on December 22, 2023, the carrier completed a deal with three lessors for a total of 45 medium-haul aircraft.听

The agreement with AerCap, ALC and SMBC Aviation Capital was reached with the participation of the Russian insurance company NSK. 

Under the terms of the settlement, the lessors agreed to cease claims against S7 under insurance policies and lease agreements. 

鈥淪7 Airlines continues negotiations to resolve aircraft relations with other foreign lessors of the airline,鈥� S7 declared in a statement. 

In an SEC filing, AerCap released more details about its own agreement with S7 Airlines and Ural Airlines. 

The Irish-based lessor said the settlement with S7 Airlines was for 29 aircraft and four spare engines.  

AerCap said an agreement for 18 aircraft and one spare engine had also been reached with Ural Airlines. 

Both transactions with the Russian airlines were approved by the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of the Treasury. 

AerCap精东影业 settlement with the two airlines was signed for approximately $572 million and was approved by the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of the Treasury. 

News of the settlements were reported in Russian news outlets, which claimed that Ural Airlines鈥� agreement with AerCap was for Airbus jets. However, Russian publications claimed the deal was in fact for 19 Airbus planes.  

鈥淚n accordance with the agreements reached, the lessors ceased their claims against the Russian parties both under insurance policies issued by Russian insurance companies and under leasing agreements concluded by Ural Airlines with the AerCap group and legal entities managed by the AerCap group,鈥� Ural Airlines announced in a statement.  

According to Russian news websites, the newly acquired jets should now be able to fly freely outside Russia without fear of being impounded.  

Subsequently, Ural Airlines has announced that it will resume flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as of December 27, 2023.  

In May 2022, the passed a resolution demanding Russia returns over 400 鈥渟tolen鈥� aircraft leased from foreign companies.听

Ural Airlines A320 field escape 鈥榤othballed鈥� for the winter as new photos emerge

• Aircraft
• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2023-11-22

Russian news outlet was reportedly told about the development on December 6, 2023, directly from relatives of the Ural Airlines pilots.听听

According to sources the Russian flag carrier gave no explanation, but both pilots Sergei Belov and Eduard Semenov refused to sign resignation letters. 

Confusion surrounding the crash has grown since the Airbus A320 was forced to land in a field just outside of Novosibirsk, in southern Siberia, on September 12, 2023, after running low on fuel.   

Following the incident, it was reported that the Airbus A320 experienced a failure of its hydraulic system as it approached Omsk Tsentralny Airport (OMS), and the crew chose to divert to another airport.  

However, as the plane flew to the alternative airport it became apparent the aircraft did not have enough fuel to land there.  

After an initial report into the incident was published on October 31, 2023, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia (Rosaviatsiya) came out and said a new investigation was needed due to 鈥渘ewly discovered circumstances鈥�. 

Izvestia then reported on November 17, 2023, that Rosaviatsiya had 鈥渋dentified 15 errors and contradictions鈥� with the original report.  

Among its concerns the Russian agency was particularly troubled by the 鈥渦nacceptably low level鈥� of the pilots training and discrepancies found in the report. 

The Airbus A320 is still stranded in the Russian field with a decision on its fate yet to be confirmed.听听

Ural Airlines denies jet cannot take off from field as PAX paid compensation

• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2023-11-24

According to Russian news agency , the insurance company Alfastrakhovanie has paid out 15.8 million rubles ($178,600) so far.听

鈥淭here are still several passengers who have not contacted the airline, although they are aware of this possibility,鈥� the insurance company said in a press release. 

At the time of writing, compensation had been paid to 158 passengers, each of whom received 100K rubles ($1,130). 

News of the compensation came as Ural Airlines was forced to deny that the technical means are not available to evacuate the aircraft from the field located outside of Novosibirsk, in southern Siberia.听

Russia is a 3rd world country: 2 months after landing in a field in Siberia, the passenger plane that suffered a failure is still there. A fence has been built around it though. 馃憤

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko)

News website said that the carrier has described any suggestion that it is unable to evacuate the A320 as 鈥渘ot true鈥�.听

On November 22, 2023, the head of the Ubinsky District in Russia, Oleg Konyuk, announced that when he last spoke with Ural Airlines representatives, he was advised that the Airbus evacuation may be 鈥渕othballed鈥� for the winter.听听

鈥淚t does not depend on me. This will be decided by the airline. Today they say this, tomorrow they may say something else. They decide whether the plane can take off or not, whether it will be right or wrong,鈥� Konyuk said.    

The Airbus A320 has been left stranded since September 12, 2023, when the pilots were forced to land in the field due to a lack of fuel. 

An initial report investigating why the plane was forced to land in the field blamed multiple factors, but the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia has since dismissed them, without offering any alternative explanation.听听听听

Ural Airlines A320 field escape 鈥榤othballed鈥� for the winter as new photos emerge

• Aircraft
• Airlines

byIan Molyneaux

2023-11-22

Speaking to Russian website , the head of the Ubinsky District in Russia, Oleg Konyuk, said that when he last spoke with Ural Airlines representatives, he was advised the Airbus may be 鈥渕othballed鈥� for the winter.听

鈥淚t does not depend on me. This will be decided by the airline. Today they say this, tomorrow they may say something else. They decide whether the plane can take off or not, whether it will be right or wrong,鈥� Konyuk said.  

It had been thought that Ural Airlines was waiting for the ground to freeze so the plane would stand a better chance of taking off, but the statement by Konyuk suggests that the evacuation of the Airbus A320 may wait until after winter.  

鈥淣ow frosts are coming, there is no snow. In a good way, almost tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we need to prepare the site, launch the graders and take off. This is my opinion, but I’m not an expert in this. I repeat, it精东影业 not me who makes the decision,鈥� Konyuk added. 

The latest update on November 22, 2023, comes as new photos of the landing site have also emerged. 

In images shared on social media a fence has been erected around the aircraft and within the compound a caravan, shipping container and even a portable toilet can be seen.  

Earlier in November 2023, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia dismissed an initial report into the cause of the emergency landing.听听

The report was said to be cancelled due to 鈥渘ewly discovered circumstances鈥�, although what those were was not confirmed.  

The conclusion of the original report stated that the forced landing occurred as a result of a combination of several factors.  

Those include that the pilots made mistakes in determining the actual position of the landing gear and doors after the failure of the green hydraulic system.   

The crew also erred in calculating the required amount of fuel required for the diversion flight and made an 鈥渦nfounded decision鈥� to leave for an alternate airfield in Novosibirsk.听听

Russia is a 3rd world country: 2 months after landing in a field in Siberia, the passenger plane that suffered a failure is still there. A fence has been built around it though. 馃憤

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko)

Ural Airlines Airbus A320 field landing: how might the aircraft be freed?

• Airlines
• Aviation Safety

byIan Molyneaux

2023-09-20

According to the Russian-language publication Izvestia, the dismissal of the report follows direct orders given by Vyacheslav Fedorov, the Head of the West Siberian Interregional Territorial Administration.

It is alleged that the report was cancelled due to 鈥渘ewly discovered circumstances鈥�, although no further information is currently available as to what those circumstances might be.

Instead, Fedorov has allegedly appointed a commission to produce a new report into the accident, said to have occurred when the flight ran out of fuel during a diversion.  

Federov has appointed the chairman of the commission, which is reported to include representatives from Aeroflot Airlines, the Aeroflot Aviation School, Ural Airlines and the Ural representative of the Federal Air Transport Agency. 

Fedorov has also reportedly granted permission for the chairman of the new commission to involve any other specialist parties that the commission deems appropriate in the conduct of the investigation.

The original investigation findings

The initial report on the results of the investigation into the forced landing of the A320 was originally approved on October 31 by the acting head of the aviation authority of Rosaviatsia, Ivan Belov. This investigation into the circumstances of the landing was carried out by a commission of six people. 

That commission also included representatives of the Ural and North-West divisions of the Federal Air Transport Agency, Ural Airlines, the Western Siberian branch of the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management and the S7 Airlines subsidiary for aircraft maintenance, S7 Engineering.

The conclusion of the original report stated that the forced landing occurred as a result of a combination of several factors. Those mistakes include that the pilots made mistakes in determining the actual position of the landing gear and doors after the failure of the green hydraulic system. The crew also erred in calculating the required amount of fuel required for the diversion flight and made an 鈥渦nfounded decision鈥� to leave for an alternate airfield in Novosibirsk. 

Additionally, the commission pointed out a non-optimal distribution of workload between pilots when flight conditions became more complicated and that there was a lack of timely control over fuel consumption and remaining fuel when diverting to the alternative airfield.

According to Izvestia精东影业 source in the Russian aviation authorities, the instigation of the new investigation was initiated by the leadership of the Federal Air Transport Agency, who were said to be 鈥渄issatisfied鈥� with the quality of the investigation.

The incident itself occurred on the morning of September 12. The A320 with registration RA-73805 landed in a cornfield outside Novosibirsk in southern Siberia after running low on fuel.

The aircraft had been flying from Sochi International Airport (AER) to Omsk Tsentralny Airport (OMS), but the aircraft experienced a loss of hydraulic pressure as it approached Omsk. The flight was unable to land at Omsk and requested to divert to Novosibirsk instead.

Fearing that the flight would not reach the diversion airport due to excessive fuel burn due to stronger winds than anticipated, the captain elected to land the plane in a remote cornfield.

The flight had 167 people onboard, including 23 children and six crew members. Preparations are currently ongoing to remove the A320 from the field by flying it out, although no timetable has been set for the recovery attempt.