28/03/2022 (Agence Europe) – Russian airlines are due to return all the aircraft they lease from European companies by Monday 28 March, following the EU sanctions taken against Moscow on 28 February (see EUROPE 12900/2). At the time of writing, only a little over 80 of the 515 aircraft – mostly European and American – had been returned to their owners. The Director General of Eurocontrol, Eamonn Brennan, has estimated the total value of the aircraft in question to be €10 billion on Friday 25 March. “Most of the planes that the Russians were able to fly abroad are leased aircraft that have now been stolen from their rightful owners”, said the Director General of the European Commission’s DG Transport and Mobility (DG MOVE), Henrik Hololei. On 14 March, the Russian government signed a law allowing airlines to re-register aircraft on Russian territory, thereby enabling them to operate domestic flights within Russia. (TM)