The U.S. Department of the Treasury has added Russia’s largest budget airline, Pobeda (owned by Aeroflot), to the SDN list — the most severe sanctions list, which entails blocking all assets and prohibiting any operations.
As a result, the airline may lose at least part of its international flights, according to The Moscow Times, citing Russian experts.
Currently, Pobeda operates domestic flights and flights to CIS countries, as well as to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Analysts from the Russian consulting company MMI confirm that being included in the SDN list “may have a negative impact on the airline’s international routes.”
Pobeda’s flights to Turkey and the UAE and CIS countries may be restricted, which account for approximately 15% of all low-cost carrier transports.
“Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines will likely replace the international flights of Pobeda, and Pobeda may increase its share of domestic flights as compensation,” they believe.
Sanctions against Pobeda will officially take effect on July 30th – by this date, the U.S. Treasury allows completing all operations with the carrier. So far, the company is operating all flights as planned, according to the Russian Association of Tour Operators.
Pobeda became the first Russian airline to fall under blocking U.S. sanctions. For example, Aeroflot is only listed in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s sanction lists, which prohibit it from directly importing American technologies.
The violation of technological restrictions became the basis for sanctions against Pobeda, according to the explanations of the State Department. According to U.S. data, the company purchased and transported sanctioned aircraft parts worth $1 million just last year, and in January 2024, it was involved in transporting aviation components from India with the help of the Iranian Mahan Air.
At the end of last year, Pobeda reported a record profit in its history of 21.3 billion rubles and transported over 13 million passengers.
The cow-cost was created in 2014 to replace the Russian low-cost carrier Dobrolet, which ceased operations due to EU sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the occupation of parts of Donbas.
