The Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCCA) has suspended the licenses of around 740 Russian aircraft operating under the agreement between Bermuda and the Russian Federation.
The suspension of all Certificates of Airworthiness of those aircraft was brought into effect at 23:59 UTC on March 12th 2022. In a press release, a BCCA spokesperson said:
“International sanctions on the aviation sector have had a significant impact on the ability to sustain safety oversight on Russian operated aircraft on the Bermuda Aircraft Registry.
“The airworthiness system has been restricted to the point that the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority [BCAA] is unable to confidently approve these aircraft as being airworthy.”
According to the government, around 740 out of 900 aircraft registered in Bermuda are operated by Russian carriers.
Bermuda’s Premier David Burt also confirmed that the island, in effect, will follow UK sanctions. The premier said, “In response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, many countries, including the United Kingdom, have introduced a wide range of sanctions against the Russian Federation.”
Russian carriers are re-registering their aircraft in Russia to avoid their plane from being seized. Around 180 aircraft have been reportedly registered in the Russian state register of civil aircraft since the end of February.