First Aeroflot plane sent to Iran for repairs still there after five months, not expected back until March 2024

An Airbus A330 plane owned by the Russian airline Aeroflot that was sent to Iran for maintenance in early April has still not returned yet, Russian media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing the service Flightradar24.

According to a source from Aeroflot who spoke to the Telegram channel Aviatorshchina, the return date for the plane “was recently pushed back by six months,” from late September 2023 to early March 2024. Data from Flightradar24 indicates that the aircraft stopped carrying out regular flights in September 2022, completed three flights over the next seven months, and flew on April 6 to Iran, where it’s been ever since.

Aviation experts told the independent Russian outlet Agentstvo that under normal circumstances, the type of servicing the plane requires should not take more than three months. Andrey Patrakov, the founder of the aircraft safety service RunAvia, said the delay is likely due to difficulties acquiring spare parts.