Insurers May Face Record Claims From Aircraft Grounded in Russia

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin, with a stroke of his pen, upended the entire aviation industry in one fell swoop.

After Bermuda suspended all airworthiness certificates for Russian-operated aircraft on its registry to comply with sanctions against Russia, Putin signed a law to allow regional and national airlines that leased aircraft from foreign companies to list on Russia’s registry and ‘to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of activities in the field of civil aviation.’

It is hard to be sure about the intentions behind some of the moves. While they give Russia an advantage at the moment, they’ve had deleterious effects on the global aviation industry.

Along with airline lessors canceling their leases, this effectively nationalized the stranded fleet and made it difficult for lessors to regain their equipment, especially before the March 28 deadline.

It became more confusing since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) mandates that ‘an aircraft cannot be validly registered in more than one state.’ Since there was no legal transfer of ownership from the lessors who outfitted Russian airlines’ fleets, these airplanes will be operating illegally in Russia.