RuAviation

Federation Council members Andrei Kutepov (St. Petersburg), Murat Khapsirokov (Adygea), Andrei Epishin (Tver), Arsen Kanokov (KBR) and Andrei Shokhin (Vladimir) have initiated the introduction of draft law No. 746052-8 to the State Duma, which would regulate the certification and approval of production of alternative components for civil aircraft. The absence of such regulation creates prerequisites for the withdrawal of production of such components to China, as less bureaucratic procedures are required to install a spare part with Chinese quality documents on an airplane in Russia.

The initiative is aimed at eliminating the shortage of foreign spare parts, which has arisen under the current sanctions prohibiting the supply of components for foreign-made aircraft. According to the proposed amendments to Article 37 of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, the bill is designed to empower Rosaviatsia to regulate the certification of spare parts manufactured by enterprises of the Russian Federation.

“The bill is designed to develop domestic production of alternative components of civil aviation equipment (РМА – Part Manufacture Approval) necessary to replace original consumable parts used in the repair of foreign components by domestic enterprises. As of 2024, despite active steps to improve the aviation legislation of the Russian Federation, this issue remains unresolved,” the explanatory note says.

The deficit of foreign-made spare parts under the conditions of anti-Russian sanctions and restrictions imposed by Western suppliers will not be eliminated in the foreseeable future, which will lead to the active development of the market of alternative spare parts in Russia. In case the regulatory framework will “catch up” with the actual needs of the industry, there is a high probability that instead of a civilized market of PMA components, carriers will face a gray market of non-authentic components, the senators note.

The authors of the bill also draw attention to the government decree of March 12, 2022, which provides an opportunity to use imported components for A&B aircraft, which creates unequal conditions for Russian manufacturers and their foreign competitors. This is due to the lack of clear regulatory framework, as a result of which the market may move into the gray sector, which will negatively affect the safety and quality of components used in Russian civil aviation.