The number of Western aerospace companies cutting off support for Russian and Belarusian customers continues to increase, with conglomerate Raytheon, training specialist CAE and Honeywell joining a list that includes major airframe and engine manufacturers.
Raytheon, parent company of Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney, confirmed March 9 that it was no longer doing business with Russian operators.
“Raytheon Technologies is suspending all sales and support services to Russia’s civil aviation industry,” a company spokesperson said, confirming a DefenseOne report.
Honeywell, citing “the current conditions in Eastern Europe,” confirmed March 8 that it “suspended substantially all of our sales, distribution and service activities in Russia and Belarus,” the company said in a statement. “We continue to evaluate the situation.”
CAE said March 8 it has suspended all flight-simulator sales, services and training to Russian airlines, corporate and cargo operators. The Canadian company does not have any facilities in Russia, but it provided Russian airlines with crew training and flight-simulator support, including simulator servicing, parts and software updates.
CAE and its employees have also donated more than C$125,000 ($97,322) to support Red Cross humanitarian relief for Ukrainian refugees.
GE Aviation parent GE published a statement via its Twitter social media account, reiterating that it had halted non-essential services to Russia, including support for airline customers.
“We are suspending our operations in Russia, with the exception of providing essential medical equipment and supporting existing power services to people in the region” GE said March 8. “We continue to work closely with the proper authorities to ensure compliance with sanctions as well as all laws and regulations.”
Embraer also reiterated that its support for customers in the affected regions has stopped.
“The company has suspended parts, maintenance, and technical support services for certain customers to comply with the sanctions imposed on Russia, Belarus, and certain regions of Ukraine by laws of jurisdictions to which Embraer is subject,” Embraer said March 9.
The moves are in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s role in the attack. Some jurisdictions, including the European Union (EU), UK, and Canada, have put sanctions in place that prohibit certain business with Russian and Belarusian entities. U.S. aerospace-related sanctions do not go as far, but the discrepancy is not keeping companies from pulling out of Russia. Boeing on March 1 announced it halted all aftermarket support and closed a key design center that employs more than 1,000 engineers and customer support staff. A similar office in Kyiv was also closed because of the invasion.
Airbus is complying with the latest EU sanctions that prohibit selling aircraft, parts, or services to Russian operators.
Belarus was subject to some sanctions before the invasion started Feb. 24 because of the country’s role in forcing a Ryanair flight en route to Lithuania to divert to Minsk so two passengers could be detained. Many countries are either expanding those restrictions or adding new ones, leading companies to cut ties with Belavia, the nation’s only scheduled passenger carrier, and other aviation entities.
Russian operators have about 840 Western-built large transport aircraft, including 700 built by Airbus or Boeing, Aviation Week Fleet Discovery data show. Belavia’s 25-aircraft fleet features 11 Boeing 737s, including one 737-8, and 11 Embraer E170/E190s variants.
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