A major Russian aircraft operator could be forced to ground a third of its fleet of more than 200 helicopters: This is Utair, a company that operates scheduled and charter flights in its vast network of connections throughout Siberia. It was announced by the company's management, explaining that the reason for this possible stop derives from the constant shortage of spare parts, the search for which is increasingly problematic.

"The fleet of our helicopters in service could be reduced by 30%. This is mainly due to problems in the supply of engines both for foreign-made helicopters and for Russian-made aircraft equipped with foreign-made powerplants", explained the Chief Executive Officer of Utair, Andrei Martirosov, interviewed by the State news agency "Tass". 

The manager of the Russian operator announced it during an aviation trade fair, indicating as the main cause the economic sanctions imposed by the West due to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, which hinders the procurement of spare parts and the sale of new aircraft abroad. 

On the matter see also the article published by AVIONEWS.