Just as the economy was recovering, a geopolitical crisis has replaced it as a threat to the European business jet industry. The U.S. and other countries have imposed sanctions on wealthy Russians because of the ongoing situation in eastern Ukraine, but at least part of the impact has been felt in Europe. In particular, many rich Russians have stopped flying to their summer homes on the Riviera and that’s cut traffic to airports in southern France. “A lot of Russians bought property in the south of France. They love to come here,” Umberto Vallino, who heads up business aviation for Nice, Cannes and St. Tropez airports, told Bloomberg. “This is the first year we’ve noticed a reduction in traffic.”
The concerns highlight the increasing importance of business traffic to and from Russia, particularly since onerous tax regimes in Russia prompt the wealthy to keep their aircraft elsewhere. U.S. officials are now actively looking for aircraft owned by the 140 individuals and 60 companies under sanctions being held by shell companies in other countries. The result is a chill that could have far-reaching impacts on the industry as a whole. “If the situation continues to escalate, there’s a danger that the Russians will stay away completely,” Jens Dreyer, who runs Aviation Broker GmbH in Frankfurt, told Bloomberg. “Without them, everything will go down the drain. They’re the driving force in the industry.” He called Moscow Vnukovo “the most important airport for business aviation in Europe.”
