Russian Airlines May Lose About 300 Mi-8 Helicopters

Their age has reached its limit.

Russian airlines need to decommission old Mi-8 helicopters, which are used for passenger transportation on certain routes. This was stated by the head of Russian Helicopters Nikolai Kolesov at a meeting with air carriers, informed sources told "Izvestia". According to them, Kolesov recalled that the age of helicopters produced in the Soviet Union has reached 40 years and approached the limit.

The carriers were offered to prepare an economic calculation of replacing old aircraft with new ones.

At the same time, about 300 machines - all Mi-8s produced before 1991 - should be decommissioned, one of the sources said. At the end of this year, two dozen old Mi-8Ts belonging to different operators have already been denied service life extension. Another 40 helicopters may be grounded in the spring and the same number next winter.

This is a rather tangible blow to the economy of carriers, who have invested in multi-million dollar repairs of the helicopters, the Izvestiya source noted. Another interlocutor added that the loss of 50-60 helicopters could create a shortage of equipment and gaps in social transportation. In turn, to replace all the old machines, he said, "it will take ten years."

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