Five entities controlled by Russian lessor GTLK have been sanctioned by the US government. The lessor's head office in Russia, along with four overseas entities, were added to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) specially designated nationals list, according to a 2 August announcement from the US Treasury. Dublin-based GTLK Europe and GTLK Europe Capital, Hong Kong-based GTLK Asia and Dubai-based GTLK Middle East Free Zone are the overseas entities affected. Individuals and companies on OFAC's SDN list, whose most recent edition published 2 August have their assets blocked and US persons are "generally prohibited from dealing with them", according to the Treasury's website. GTLK has been sanctioned by the European Union since April. The EU said at the time that GTLK was "financially supporting and benefitting" from the Russian government, which it said was responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine. Data shows that GTLK has an in-service and stored fleet of 270 aircraft. GTLK Europe owns nine aircraft, including five Boeing 737-800s, two Airbus A321s and two Bombardier CRJ200s, all on lease to Russian carriers. GTLK Asia – via entities called GTLK Asia A1 and GTLK Asia A2 – owns two 737-900s on lease to Lion Air. GTLK Middle East owns one A220-300 on lease to Air Manas, based in Kyrgyzstan, as well as one 777-200 on lease to Emirates. It also manages one A220-300 itself, which was scheduled to be leased into Air Manas but is now in storage.

Indian carrier Vistara is planning to ramp up frequencies on flights to and from Frankfurt in Germany and Paris in France as it gears up to receive its third Boeing 787-9 on lease. Starting 30 October, the carrier says it will operate six weekly flights between Delhi and Frankfurt, up from the current thrice weekly frequency. Meanwhile, connectivity between Delhi and Paris goes up from twice weekly to five times a week. Vistara's 787-9 comes with a three-class cabin configuration and will also feature fully flat business class seats, each with direct aisle access, and a separate premium economy cabin. In May, the airline scaled up frequencies on several international routes, including Delhi-London and Mumbai-Singapore to daily flights, besides bolstering its other international and domestic routes. Chief commercial officer Deepak Rajawat states: “Europe has been a key focus market for us since the very beginning, and we are glad that our customers appreciate our offerings on these long-haul routes. We have been wanting to ramp up frequencies on these sectors and we are delighted to be able to finally do that.”

US regulators have added 25 foreign-produced aircraft that have flown into Russia or Belarus to a list of jets that are in apparent violation of US export controls, due to them containing 25% or more US-origin parts. The US Commerce Department, through its Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), has added the aircraft to the 158 already identified as having breached export administration regulations (EAR) after violating its de minimis threshold of US-made parts. The newly identified foreign-manufactured aircraft consist of Airbus A330-300 equipment in the fleet of Ifly, A321 and A330-200 aircraft with Nordwind, A321 aircraft with Red Wings, A320 and A321 aircraft with S7 Airlines, A320 and A321 aircraft with Ural Airlines, and A320 and A321 aircraft with Yamal Airlines “The United States and our partners applied sweeping, powerful export controls to industry sectors – such as aerospace – that Russia leverages to sustain its military aggression,” states assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement Matthew Axelrod, adding that the new additions to the list "further degrades Russian airlines’ ability to operate their fleets of both US and EU airplanes". US law firm Katten states that the effect of violating the EAR is that such aircraft are thereafter prohibited from being sold, transferred, exported, re-exported, financed, ordered, bought, removed, concealed, stored, used, loaned, disposed of, transported, forwarded or otherwise serviced by any person anywhere who has knowledge of the violation. Subsequent actions taken with respect to the listed aircraft, including maintenance, repair, refuelling, and the provision of spare parts and services, are subject to EAR prohibitions, Katten adds. "So unless an aircraft in Russia has remained grounded since the Rules were issued, the continued leasing or financing of that aircraft (among other activities) by a party having knowledge that it had operated within Russia may be prohibited by US law," the law firm notes. Katten points out that other rules may apply to leasing and financing of commercial aircraft in Russia including the rules of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury, and the rules issued by the European Union in response to the Russian invasion. "Lessee parties to a leasing transaction, including airline majority shareholders, require screening against sanction regimes to ensure OFAC violations do not occur separate from the export licensing issues," it adds. On 24 February, the BIS imposed expansive controls on aviation-related items to Russia, including a licence requirement for the export, re-export or transfer (in-country) to Russia of any aircraft or aircraft parts on the Commerce Control List.