In 2007, the State Concern AZAL of Azerbaijan will continue renewing the park of the civil aviation. The Head of AZAL, Jahangir Askerov, informed Trend that it is planned to fully liquidate the old Soviet and Russian technique.
The main fact is the existence of the infringing market of the spare parts and their delivery to the official aviation plants, he said.
It results in a weak control. Due to this instability in the market and instability in the price policy and quality of the products, we decided to fully liquidate the Russian technique, Askerov said.
Presently 6 helicopters have been renewed and 4 oil helicopters (MI-8) remain. 4 airplanes (РўU-154 and two РўU-134) have also left in the plane park. They are in normal condition and can be exploited for three more years, he said.
In addition, two more airplanes have been left in each of the private companies, Turan Air and Imair. Generally 8 РўU-154 planes and 2 РўU-134 planes are exported in the country. According to him, after three years, they will be liquidated because it is inefficient to repair them due to the expensive prices and instability in the Russian aviation market.
In the future, the exploitation of the Russian technique, especially IL-76, will be continued because this plane is unique in the world. Today many old airplanes are not admitted to Europe due to the inconsistency of the motor with the requirements of the third category of standards of International Civil Aviation Organization, but this motor meets fourth category. Therefore, we ordered two IL-76 planes with new motors and hope to receive two planes with PS-90 motors in the first half of 2007, which will allow us to fly to Europe without limitation, Askerov said.