Russian outsized cargo specialist Volga-DNEPR Airlines explains Canadian measures to seize one of the Antonov AN-124s as a “pirate hijack.”
As a result of Canadian sanctions against Russian airlines, the aircraft have been parked in Toronto since February 2022, with legal efforts being made to confiscate the jet and move it to Ukrainian authorities.
Volga-Dnepr says he tried to negotiate with Canadian authorities but was not successful, and in August last year he began arbitration proceedings over the “expropriation” of the property.
Russian airlines claim that the AN-124 is flying “humanitarian” and is transporting medical kits from China in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Humanitarian missions have always been seen as neutral cases outside of political context,” says CEO Igor Aksenov.
He says that private companies had a “important reputation” for logistics services and provided them “in good faith.”
“We only see violations of all international business rules, lack of communication and illegal retention of private property,” he adds.
The Russian government itself has illegally retained and re-registered dozens of foreign-owned aircraft used by the country's airlines. Leasing companies have since agreed to a more insurance settlement than many.
Aksenov claims that AN-124 is “illegally seized” because Canadian sanctions and new laws are “used as a tool,” and he claims he is paying attention to the obvious intent to forward it to “third parties” under “plausible pretexts.”
He says the oversized freight sector lacks capacity and that jets will return to Volga-DNEPR to Volga-DNEPR will have a “positive effect” on logistics chain stability and will maintain Canada's reputation “as a country that complies with international law.”
Antonov, the design bureau that developed the AN-124 during the Soviet era, is located in Ukraine. The company's facility at Gostomel airport in Kyiv was severely damaged during the Russian attacks early in the Ukrainian conflict.
