The Russian plane that has sat at Swiss airport since start of Ukraine war

Aeroflot ‘Galina Vishnevskaya’ has been parked in the same place since 2022 at Geneva airport after sanctions prevented it from returning to Moscow (Picture: DI NOLFI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

On the tarmac at Geneva airport,one particular plane has been stood idle for slightly longer than your average turnaround.

The Aeroflot A321,named after Russian soprano Galina Vishnevskaya,has been parked at the Swiss gateway since 2022.

The Airbus aircraft coded VP-BOE,belonging to the Russian flag carrier was due to return home when sanctions banning the airline from European airspace prevented it from leaving.

Now the aircraft is thought to be in a poor condition,having been left exposed to the elements for more than four years,Simply Flying reported.

VP-BOE landed in Switzerland on February 27,2022,days after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine.

The following day,the Switzerland followed EU countries in banning all Russian aircraft from landing or taking off from its airports,leaving the Aeroflot plane stranded.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.Not only has it been out of service for all of this time,the aircraft has racked up around £1.4 million in parking and ground handling charges.It is unclear whether the aircraft remains fuelled and catered,with any food onboard certainly rotten and highly likely to attract pests and insects.To further complicate matters,while the aircraft was operated by Aeroflot,it did so under a lease agreement with GTLK or the State Transport Leasing Company.This was through one of GTLK’s Irish subsidiaries which,following a high court order in 2023,are in the process of being wound up.With assets valued at €4 billion,the process is the largest of its kind in Ireland,the Irish Independent reported.The aircraft’s deteriorating state means it is unlikely to be reclaimed by the Russian state carrier,given that it is unable to acquire parts necessary to bring the plane back into service.Russian airlines are currently banned from sourcing parts from major manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing.However several are acquiring parts through the grey market. In August,a Florida court found a former Aeroflot employee used fake labels to ship nearly $1million worth of American parts to the airline.Since the start of the war,several Russian assets have found themselves held in foreign nations following the imposition of sanctions against the Kremlin.A heavy cargo plane operated by Volga-Dnepr Airlines was seized by Canadian authorities after being stuck at Toronto Pearson airport.Last month a court rejected an appeal application from the airline,leaving the huge Antonov AN-124 in limbo.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.