Almost 30 Russian airlines may face bankruptcy in the near future. The companies, which together provide 26% of all air transportation in the country, are suffering from accumulating debts on leasing payments for foreign aircraft. As reported by Izvestia, the situation is complicated by sanctions, which forced carriers to stop leasing payments to foreign owners of aircraft. However, this did not relieve the companies of the obligation to maintain the airworthiness of the fleet, which entailed additional costs for maintenance and repairs.

The situation with airline debt obligations is gradually worsening, threatening the stability of the entire Russian aviation industry. In conditions where many aircraft require significant investments to maintain operational characteristics, companies are faced with a choice: either to seek internal reserves to meet flight safety requirements, or to reduce the volume of services.

Such a crisis in the aviation sector could lead to a reduction in the number of flights, especially on domestic routes, which would affect the mobility of citizens, especially in regions where air travel is an important transport link.