The U.S.- and European Union-led sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have spilled into the travel world, as many cruise ships said they will not make ports of call in Eastern Europe and almost 40 countries have banned Russian aircraft from flying over its airspace.
Now comes another residual problem for Russia.
The world's two biggest airplane manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, have stopped supplying Russian airplanes with parts - leaving the country's national carrier, Aeroflot, and other airlines without the necessary vital equipment to make repairs and replacements to keep their aircraft flight-worthy.
The trickle-down effect could even spill over to creditors who have leased their planes to Russia and run the risk of not being paid due to sanction-related cuts in air schedules for Aeroflot, according to Business Insider, which noted that more than two-thirds of Russian planes were made by Boeing and Airbus.
"We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv," Boeing said in a statement to CNN. "We are also suspending parts, maintenance, and technical support services for Russian airlines."
Airbus said it will also stop sending supplies to Russia.
The domino effect could be devastating to the aviation industry in Russia. Not only would it not have the manufacturers sending them needed supplies, but it will also have difficulty in flying planes that need repairs to an ally - such as China, North Korea or Iran - that would help service them because Russia can't fly over certain airspace.
"Of course, it would be good for Russia to find suppliers and partners in third countries who would be ready to ensure stable shipments of all necessary components," Oleg Panteleev, head of Russian AviaPort analytical agency, told Reuters News Service. "But if these countries say they are afraid of sanctions, Russia would need to search for foreign specialists and create a maintenance system at Russian factories."
Russia also has more than 50 planes on order from Boeing and Airbus that now won't be delivered due to the sanctions.
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