A Russian passenger plane belonging to Aeroflot was finally able to take off from Munich Airport again after more than two years. This long downtime was the result of a flight ban imposed immediately after the Russian attack on Ukraine, which applied to all Russian airlines in European airspace. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Germany closed its airspace to Russian aircraft just a few days later. The Aeroflot Airbus A320-214 aircraft was stranded at Munich Airport and has been tied to the same location ever since due to the sanctions.
At first it seemed that Aeroflot would be able to get the plane back in the foreseeable future, but legal and logistical hurdles meant that the plane remained parked for over 800 days. However, the plane was eventually able to be brought back due to a legal peculiarity: it belongs to the Irish subsidiary of a Chinese leasing company, CMB Financial Leasing, which had only leased it to Aeroflot. Only when this owner organized the return and covered the considerable costs was the plane allowed to fly on to the Czech Republic.
However, the stranded aircraft required extensive maintenance work to ensure it was airworthy after its long downtime. Munich Airport had repeatedly moved the aircraft to different parking positions to ensure that air traffic continued to run smoothly. These and other maintenance costs as well as parking fees ultimately led to an outstanding bill of almost 460.000 euros. This sum, one of the highest parking fees ever recorded by an airport, was paid by the leasing company CMB Financial Leasing.
There had already been attempts to return the aircraft, but by June 2024 the legal and financial challenges had proved insurmountable. Finally, after successful maintenance and inspection work, the Federal Aviation Office approved the departure and the Airbus A320 took off for the Czech Republic, where it could probably be used commercially again in the future - possibly in Canada. Demand for aircraft of this type is currently high because the Airbus A320 is relatively new and is considered particularly economical.
The retrieval of this aircraft illustrates the complex challenges and costs that sanctions and geopolitical tensions can create in international air traffic. Cases like this raise the question of the extent to which leasing companies - often operating across national borders - are indirectly affected by sanctions and have to bear the consequences.
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