Russia asks Vietnam to lease it aircraft
Russia's transport minister said Moscow has asked Vietnam to provide Russian airlines with aircraft from local carriers under a "wet lease" arrangement, including crews and maintenance. Vietnam is currently reviewing the proposal.
Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin said after Russian-Vietnamese talks held in Moscow on Wednesday, September 9, that Russia has proposed Vietnamese air carriers transfer aircraft to Russian airlines under a so-called "wet lease" — meaning together with crews and technical maintenance. The proposals have already been sent to Vietnamese counterparts, who are currently reviewing them.
The minister noted strong growth in tourist traffic between the two countries across all transport modes, with air travel showing nearly threefold growth compared to 2025. Nikitin said obtaining aircraft from Vietnamese carriers would help expand cooperation and increase the number of flights between the countries.
Earlier attempts fell through
Russia has previously sought similar wet-lease deals with other countries, including Central Asian states, Qatar, Kuwait and Ethiopia. In summer 2025, Ethiopian authorities rejected the offer, explaining that they lacked authority over aircraft belonging to national carrier Ethiopian Airlines and citing concerns about possible secondary US sanctions. No wet-lease agreements with foreign carriers have been reported as concluded so far.
Russian airlines need additional aircraft amid difficulties acquiring and repairing Boeing and Airbus jets, which make up about two-thirds of the country's civil aviation fleet and handle 90% of passenger traffic. Problems obtaining aviation components left nearly a fifth of aircraft grounded at Russia's largest carriers this summer — 130 of 673 planes across 11 companies accounting for more than 90% of Russia's passenger flow were not operating flights. Typically up to 10% of aircraft are grounded during this period for scheduled maintenance. Excluding the Aeroflot group, eight carriers had 93 of 322 aircraft unused — nearly a third of their fleet.
In April 2025, Vladimir Putin authorized Russian airlines to take foreign aircraft under wet lease; previously this rental format was permitted only between Russian carriers and exclusively for domestic flights.
