On August 14, two Boeing 777 aircraft owned by Russian operator Red Wings Airlines were simultaneously out of service for technical reasons. As a result, over 400 Russian tourists have been stranded in Turkey since Saturday because of the issues and slow repair times.
The group, scheduled to return from the Turkish resort city of Antalya, has not yet been able to return to Yekaterinburg, a Russian city East of the Ural Mountains. The Russian prosecutor general's office has also corroborated the story, indicating that exactly 410 passengers have been stranded for over 48 hours.
According to anonymous reports to news outlet E1.ru, passengers had their flights rescheduled multiple times throughout the weekend. As a result of sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, carriers such as Red Wings have been unable to quickly secure replacement parts for broken aircraft.
Reportedly, one of the broken-down Boeing 777s has been under repair at Moscow's Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA). The reason for the repair, however, has not yet been reported.
The second Boeing 777, however, experienced an issue with a damaged cooling system. This ultimately resulted in the aircraft being grounded in Antalya for over 11 hours. This incident resulted in three passengers fainting and an additional passenger experiencing a panic attack, according to the telegram-based messaging app Mash.
According to a recent statement from Red Wings, an additional aircraft has been loaned from Russian charter carrier Ikar to transport the stranded passengers back home. As a result of sanctions, Russian airlines have been forced to strip parts from grounded aircraft to complete routine repairs.
Red Wings Airlines, a Russian carrier focusing on leisure travel, operates services from major Russian cities to destinations across the nation's Southwest and a limited number of international destinations. The carrier's operations are based out of the airline's hub at Moscow Domodedevo Airport (DME). The airline also provides scheduled cargo services.
The airline's fleet consists of 29 aircraft, including an additional 59, which remain on order. Despite this large fleet, only 11 aircraft are Western-made, including 3 Boeing 777-200ER jets, six Airbus A321s, and two A320s. Alongside these Boeing and Airbus jets, the airline flies 19 Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft and two older Tupolev Tu-204s. The carrier maintains an outstanding order for 41 Sukhoi Superjets and 16 new Irkut MC-21s, a new short-haul aircraft under development by Russian manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation.
