In 2022, Boeing and Airbus refused to sell and service their aircraft to Russia. As a result, Russian aircraft manufacturers returned to projects they had worked on previously — the MC-21 and Tu-214. At the same time, it was necessary to replace Western aviation components with Russian ones.
Western sanctions clipped the wings of the MC-21 project. Artificially created problems could not go unnoticed by air carriers, who now looked at the Soviet Tu-214 with new eyes.
According to Marzhetsky, the Tu-214 was considered a kind of "crutch", with which one could "limp" until the MC-21 was put into series production. However, the interest of airlines in the Tu-214 continues to grow. For example, in September 2024, the carrier S7 ordered 100 modernized Tu-214.
It is possible that the modernized Tu-214 will subsequently be able to find its niche not only on domestic airlines, but also in some countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia that are friendly to Russia.
Read more on the topic:
"Almost ideal, but needs improvement": Russian engineers are modernizing the Tu-214
Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Alikhanov boarded the Tu-214 at the Kazan Aviation Plant
