The state-owned Rostec Corporation is moving forward with plans to consolidate various airlines under a single umbrella. Ilyushin Finance Co. is reportedly set to serve as the operator and administrator of the new holding company. Affected by the consolidation are the passenger airline Red Wings, its cargo subsidiary Sky Gates, the leasing company Aviacapital-Service, and various medical aviation assets. It is a step driven by hardship.
The operations of these carriers are at risk following Western sanctions, including the ban on spare parts and components for Boeing and Airbus jetliners. Consequently,the carriers’ ability to perform technical maintenance is severely hampered, if possible at all, as CargoForwarder Global previously reported: (https://cargoforwarder.eu/2026/07/19/russia-keeps-grounding-aircraft/). Other Russian airlines that are struggling commercially and operationally might follow suit and, should their situation deteriorate further, become part of the new holding. According to Rostec, the holding structure will make it easier to organize the exchange of components among the various airlines, thus reducing operational bottlenecks. Citing intelligence reports, Ukrainian media identify Red Wings as one of the clearest examples of the Russian aviation sector’s problems. According to the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU), the carrier can no longer sustain its charter operations. Of its three Boeing 777 aircraft, only one remains in service, while another has been grounded and the third is effectively out of operation.
Lower priority carriers play the third or fourth fiddle
The situation has reportedly been exacerbated by years of internal management disputes which have delayed key personnel decisions and contributed to the departure of experienced aviation specialists.
According to the SZRU, creating a single holding company will not resolve the underlying problems. Instead, it will merely redistribute already scarce resources, including funding, personnel, and spare parts, among struggling operators. In practice, this means lower-priority carriers may be forced to sacrifice operations to keep more strategically important carriers in the air, predominantly the Aeroflot Group.
The Ukrainian intelligence service concludes that no corporate restructuring can restore access to Western aircraft components, accelerate domestic aircraft production, or reverse the ongoing loss of skilled personnel after years of crisis management.
Russian airlines are victims of Russia’s international situation
Hard hit is also Russia’s cargo aviation sector which continues to contract amid shortages of engines and spare parts, extended maintenance cycles, and an aging fleet suffering from both a limited repair capacity and a shortage of qualified technicians. Since Russia’s Ukraine invasion, the industry has lost its cornerstone business of transporting cargo from the Far East to Europe via Russia, as evidenced by the decline of the once dominant freight carrier AirBridge Cargo. Another victim of Russia’s imperialist policy is Sky Gates Airlines. Following the Ukraine invasion, their two leased B747-400F aircraft were transferred to Baku and listed in the Azerbaijani Civil Aviation Aircraft Registry with Silk Way West Airlines as their new operator. The latter has ceased all commercial operations in Russia, including overflights of Russian territory.
Ilyushin instead of Boeing freighters
After about 16 months of operational inactivity due to a lack of aircraft, Red Wings took over Sky Gates in the summer of 2023. Half a year later, in DEC23, Sky Gates received its first Russian-built freighter, a restored Il-96-400T cargo aircraft (tail number RA-96103). It is operational since DEC25. Compared to the Boeing Jumbos, however, the Ilyushin burns significantly more fuel and emits more greenhouse gases, operational records evidence. Since the two Ilyushin freighters were manufactured in Russia – that’s the good news – Sky Gates at least no longer has to worry about being cut off from the supply of components and spare parts.
