BBS:      TELESC.NET.BR
Assunto:  Re: Ural Airlines to extend the life of Airbus airplanes without Airbus
De:       Ward Dossche
Data:     Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:52:15 +0100
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FYI, Ural Airlines are the ones who successfully landed a commercial airliner in a wheat field pretty much intact.
 
After attempts to let it take-off again from an improvised runway were unfeasable as well as removing the wings and truck it in parts to a facility to re-assemble it, it was being canibalised in-situ for spare parts ... much of the airframe still sits where it came to a stop ... much to the joy of the farmer who is making money without having to plant anything.
 
 \%/@rd
 
AH> Sans Airbus support, Russian Ural Airlines aims an inhouse Program to
AH> Extend Airbus A320 Lifespan beyond 96,000 flight hours.
 
AH> Russia's Ural Airlines said it will launch what it described as a
AH> first-of-its-kind domestic program to extend the service life of Airbus
AH> A320 family aircraft beyond 96,000 flight hours, as the countrys
AH> aviation sector grapples with Western sanctions and a shortage of spare
AH> parts.
 
AH> The carrier said work would be carried out at its own maintenance
AH> facility and would include full disassembly, inspection, airframe repairs
AH> and final reassembly beginning in autumn 2026.
 
AH> The airline said no comparable comprehensive program exists in Russia. It
AH> called the initiative a logical continuation of its engineering
AH> development and "a major step forward for the domestic aviation
AH> industry."
 
AH> Ural Airlines added that it is also designing workshops to repair fuel,
AH> hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
 
AH> "In parallel, the design of new workshops for in-depth repairs of fuel,
AH> hydraulic, and pneumatic system components is underway, laying the
AH> foundation for a full technical cycle. Starting this fall, the practical
AH> phase of the project will begin. Specialists will proceed to large-scale
AH> work: from complete disassembly and diagnostics of the airframe to its
AH> repair and final assembly," the company explained.
 
AH> The Airbus A320 is a family of narrow-body passenger airliners for short-
AH> and medium-haul routes. Initially, the design lifespan of the A320 family
AH> was about 60,000 flight hours, but as the fleet aged, Airbus developed
AH> the Extended Service Goal program, which allows aircraft to be operated
AH> up to 120,000 flight hours with additional work.
 
AH> Russian civil aviation is facing serious challenges due to Western
AH> sanctions imposed after the start of the war in Ukraine. Due to the ban
AH> on supplying new aircraft and spare parts from Boeing and Airbus, the
AH> number of available airframes is shrinking: Russian airlines are
AH> disassembling planes to use their parts to keep other airliners flying.
 
 
AH> Industry specialists have raised safety concerns over the scheme. Ural
AH> Airlines' announcement means the airline intends to extend aircraft
AH> lifespans in ncertified centers. This further distances such aircraft
AH> from international practices for complying with flight safety standards.
 
AH> In September 2025, Russia had appealed to the International Civil
AH> Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ease the sanctions. The appeal detailed,
AH> Russian airlines are forced to import parts for more than 700 aircraft,
AH> mostly Boeing and Airbus, through complex schemes. In Moscow, they
AH> emphasized that these components are critical for the safety of civilian
AH> flights and called the sanctions themselves "unlawful coercive measures."
 
AH> Replacing Airbus and Boeing aircraft with Russian made is not working
AH> out. Of the 15 commercial aircraft that Russian aircraft factories were
AH> supposed to deliver in 2025, only one was handed over. The plan fell
AH> through due to sanctions that deprived manufacturers of foreign
AH> components and technologies.
 
AH> The Ural Airlines fleet consists of 51 aircraft from this family, A321,
AH> A320, A319, A320neo, and A321neo. And in its report for the first half of
AH> 2025, the airline noted a 7% decline in passenger traffic compared to the
AH> previous year due to "difficulties the company faced in maintaining
AH> airworthiness for the new-generation Airbus neo aircraft."
 
AH> --- DB4 - 20230201
AH> * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)
AH> SEEN-BY: 80/1 221/1 229/426 280/464 292/854 2226 8125 301/1 335/364
AH> SEEN-BY: 5001/100
AH> @PATH: 292/854

--- DB4 - 20230201
 * Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)

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