Russian airlines may not see a single MC-21 aircraft in 2026 either, which has been under development since 2009 and, according to initial plans, was supposed to enter serial production 10 years ago.
The delivery of the MC-21-310 and the domestically produced Superjet 100 in a fully Russian configuration “is tied to the certification of these aircraft,” said Dmitry Yadrov, the head of Rosaviatsia, on Monday.
“Rostec” plans to complete the certification procedures at the end of 2026. However, after that, it will take about three months for airlines to start operating the aircraft on commercial routes, said Yadrov. “This is related to the process of accepting aircraft in serial production, the preparation of flight crews, and the running-in of the machines,” explained the head of Rosaviatsia (quoted by Interfax).
Initially, the serial production of the MC-21 was scheduled to be launched in 2016, then the deadlines were moved to 2019, and later to 2020. After that, the launch of production was postponed twice more – to 2022 and 2024. In February 2024, Sergey Chemezov, the head of “Rostec”, announced that the deliveries of the aircraft to airlines would be “most likely postponed to 2025”. But the carriers did not see a single aircraft again.
The comprehensive program for the development of the aviation industry, which the government approved in 2022, required that in 2024-25, aircraft factories produce 18 MC-21 aircraft, and by 2029, increase production to 72 aircraft per year (The Moscow Times).
