Turkey sanctions Russian-operated aircraft

Turkey’s Ministry of Customs and Trade has announced a decision that bans Turkish airports from providing fuel or related services to Russian-operated aircraft that are produced in the US, effective March 14. The ban is in line with US sanctions imposed on Russia following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to Airport Haber, the decision prohibits servicing for private, cargo, commercial, and charter aircraft or aircraft manufactured in other countries but whose production involves more than 25 percent raw materials sourced from the US.

The list of affected aircraft published by Airport Haber includes Boeings. According to Simple Flying, Russian airlines have begun to deploy Airbus jets to Turkish airports instead.

The decision is in compliance with the requests of the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security regarding export practices.

Last month, Turkey’s largest ground handling company Havas had written a letter to Russian and Belarusian airlines, warning that services may be denied to abide by US requests.