Supporting Russia’s fleet of Western-built aircraft is a humanitarian necessity – AmCham Russia

:: Gagarin airport

The initiation of peace talks between Washington and Moscow regarding the expected ceasefire and military conflict resolution in Ukraine have prompted the U.S. business to voice their suggestions on further progress in lifting of sanctions.

“First of all, we ask for sanctions to be lifted in the aviation sector: this concerns both the supply of spare parts and technical support for aircraft,”— the AmCham Russia president Robert Agee said in an interview to RBC outlet on March 7. The American Chamber of Commerce has been representing and lobbying US businesses in Russia since 1994.

Agee emphasized, that supporting the western-built aircraft fleet, operated by Russian airlines is “less about business ambitions and more about a humanitarian necessity, as ordinary citizens suffer the most” and aviation safety in general is at stake. AmCham Russia has launched The Two Continents initiative jointly with another foreign association, the Franco-Russian CCI France Russie in January 2025.

According to Russia’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya, as of December 2024, the country’s airlines had approximately 600 western-built aircraft in operation, which catered for 92 per cent of all air travel demand in Russia. Over 260 of them are Boeing aircraft.

Boeing discontinued technical support and sales of spare parts to Russian carrier on March 1, 2022 following introduction of sanctions. It also shut down its aviation training center near Moscow.

According to Agee, lifting of aviation-related sanctions will be one of the key measures listed on the white paper that he will present to the US government in April. Among other suggestions is relief on restrictions for American investments in Russia, lifting sanctions on Russian banks to restore cross-border payments and resuming the supply of luxury goods. AmCham estimates that about 150 US companies are still operating in Russia, while 150 more have left the market and further 50 sold their assets to local companies.

During the US – Russia talks in Istanbul, Moscow also suggested to resume the bilateral air connection, which has been suspended since 2022.