Russia refuses to hand back more than 500 leased airplanes
Monday is the final call for Russian airlines to hand back hundreds of commercial aircraft to their foreign owners. EU sanctions mean leasing companies have had to cancel their contracts to supply Russian carriers with planes. Leased planes make up the majority of the Western-built commercial jets used by Russian airlines. There are more than 500 of them, with a combined value of some 10 billion dollars. While these planes have been unable to fly outside Russia due to sanctions banning them from European airspace, many are still flying domestic routes. And lessors are losing hope of actually getting them back. Russia's transportation minister says the Kremlin will compensate owners for the aircraft, but there have reportedly been no negotiations so far, because any agreement would breach sanctions.