MOSCOW, Aug 22: Russia grounded all long-distance Ilyushin 96-300 passenger aircraft on Monday due to safety problems similar to one that disrupted a trip by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, transport officials said.

“In Aug 2005 there were a number of incidents involving Il-96-300 that affected flight safety,” the Transport Ministry said in a statement, adding the main problem involved the aircraft’s brakes. “Similar incidents had happened before, too.”

Flag carrier Aeroflot, which has six of the 13 planes currently in use, said it was forced to cancel some of its flights to the United States, Canada, Vietnam, China and South Korea to comply with the decision.

“It’s a critical situation for us,” Aeroflot Deputy General Director Lev Koshlyakov said in televised remarks.

Koshlyakov told Interfax news agency that Aeroflot could lose $20 million if the planes were grounded until the end of October.

Earlier this month, Mr Putin had to switch to a back-up plane during a visit to Finland after his Il-96 encountered a technical problem, according to state news agencies.

The remaining seven planes belong to smaller domestic carriers including state transport company GTK Rossiya, which operates Mr Putin’s fleet.

The decision came just days after Russia’s MAKS international air show, where a number of contracts involving the Il-96 were clinched, including a deal to sell the aircraft to Cuba. —Reuters