Bermuda scraps airworthiness certificates for 800 Russian planes now

The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) announced that the agency’s ability to sustain safety oversight of Russian-operated planes on Bermuda’s aircraft registry has been severely impaired by the international sanctions imposed on Russia over its ongoing aggression in Ukraine.

Effective immediately, Bermuda is suspending airworthiness certificates for aircraft operated by Russian airlines, basically grounding almost 800 planes operated by the Russia’s top air carriers.

No plane can take to the skies without a certificate of airworthiness, which is issued by the civil aviation authority in the country where it is registered. This encompasses both international and domestic flights. Violating those rules is “like driving a stolen car with an expired driving license and fake license plates.”

In an official press release, the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) said that due to being “unable to confidently approve these aircraft as being airworthy,” the regulator has decided to “provisionally suspend” their airworthiness certificates.

The restrictions began at 23:59 UTC, with the suspension being effective for all airborne planes on landing, it added.

The move is yet another blow to the Russian aviation sector. Russia’s companies, including its leading carriers Aeroflot and S7, reportedly have 768 planes registered in Bermuda, an island nation of some 70,000 in the North Atlantic Ocean and a British Overseas Territory. The aircraft in question are mainly Boeing and Airbus planes from foreign leasing firms.

Russia’s Transport Ministry said earlier this week that it was considering adding those planes to the Russian registry, while also maintaining their foreign registration, in order to keep them in the air. 

In the wake of the Russian unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union (EU) has banned the sale of civilian aircraft and parts to Russia, and forbidden companies from repairing or insuring Russian-operated planes.

Leasing firms were also told to terminate their contracts with the country’s carriers by the end of March. Moscow responded by threatening to “nationalize” the foreign aircraft.

To obtain a Certificate of Airworthiness, an applicant must first provide the BCAA with an Export Certificate of Airworthiness from the exporting State of registry, stating compliance to the Type Certificate standard the applicant wishes to register the aircraft to.