Ukrainian state enterprise Antonov agreed to extend the airworthiness of the aircraft Ruslan, the world's largest civil cargo aircraft An-124-100, run by the Russian air cargo company Volga-Dnepr.
"In order to comply with obligations under inter-agency coordination with the authorized ministries and departments of Ukraine, in pursuance of a letter by the State Export Control of Ukraine, the specialists of the State Enterprise Antonov will perform on a contractual basis the works to assess the technical condition of the aircraft AN-124-100 Ruslan at Airline Volga-Dnepr company, which is not included in the list of companies against which the NSDC of Ukraine applied sanctions," Antonova said on Friday in a statement on its website.
The Russian daily Kommersant reported earlier in the day, citing industry sources that Volga-Dnepr and Antonov were in closed-door talks on the extension of airworthiness of Ruslans.
Antonov pulled out of the Ukrainian-Russian JV OAK-Antonov and stopped servicing the aircraft of the Russian carrier. This put in a difficult situation the company Volga-Dnepr with its park of 12 Ruslans, the world's largest mass-produced cargo aircraft.
Antonov remained the holder of the certificate of these aircrafts, according to which the procedure for extending the life of the aircraft should be made after every 4,000 flying hours.