Aeroflot Airbus A330 Returns From C Check In Iran

An Aeroflot Airbus A330-300 has returned to Russia after undergoing maintenance in Iran at Mahan Air’s MRO facility.

The aircraft—carrying registration number RA-73700—arrived back at Aeroflot’s Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport base from Tehran on March 1, according to Flightradar24.

The widebody spent 11 months in Iran as it underwent a C check at Mahan Air Engineering & Maintenance.

The C check marked the first time a Russian carrier had sent an airliner abroad for repair since the introduction of sanctions following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Under the rules, Western suppliers have been prohibited from providing spare parts and services to Russia.

Mahan Air previously posted a video showing the Russian-operated aircraft in its hangar after it arrived in April 2023. In the clip, the Iranian airline said that its technical MRO capabilities had been assessed and approved by Aeroflot’s auditing team; Mahan Air operates the A340-600, which bears structural and technological similarities to the A330-300.

Following the introduction of sanctions, Russian aviation authorities recognized Iranian standards of aircraft maintenance and approved the use of any parts produced by Iran for aircraft repair later in 2022.

Aeroflot declined to comment when asked if it was satisfied with the Iranian maintenance work. However, the flag-carrier sent another A330—RA-73784—for maintenance to Tehran in November 2023, which remains in the country.

Aeroflot has 12 A330s, which are the oldest widebody aircraft in its fleet. Eight of them have been acquired by the airline from financial lease since 2022. Two A330s have remained grounded for more than a year while another one has not performed passenger flights since September 2023.

The airline’s widebody fleet also includes 22 Boeing 777-300ERs and nine A350-900s.