Russia's Industry Minister urges super-active talks on Tu-214 production
Negotiations on Tu-214 aircraft contracts must intensify, and fuselage assembly times should be reduced to 12 days. Such statements were made by the head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade (Minpromtorg), Anton Alikhanov, during a visit to the Kazan Aviation Plant (KAZ). This was reported by the press service of the head of Tatarstan.
The authorities still set the task for KAZ to increase production to 20 airliners per year. Currently, the plant actually assembles one aircraft annually, Alikhanov acknowledged.
The Kazan enterprise was chosen as a showcase where a new working system will be tested — using lean production methods, automation of assembly processes, and implementation of new digital solutions.
«Active work with the Agency for the Development of Professional Skills and the competency center in the field of labor productivity allows us to confidently move towards the goal — to reduce the Tu-214 fuselage assembly cycle to 12 days, which will enable the production of up to 20 aircraft annually,» Alikhanov noted.
Together with the head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, and the Russian Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, he visited the Tu-214 unit assembly workshops and assessed how the modernization is progressing at the plant. Then the guests inspected the new warehouses of the modern logistics center, which will soon be put into operation.
Alikhanov reminded that in December 2025, the first import-substituted Tu-214 received approval for the main change in the standard design and can now enter serial production.
«Negotiations with consumers — with airlines — must enter a super-active phase. Our task is to provide a quality product in the volume that the market is ready to consume, and at an acceptable price,» the minister said.
According to the latest plans for Tu-214 production, in 2026 KAZ should produce 8 aircraft, and in 2027 produce 12. Contracts with the first buyers may be concluded in the next three months.
The plan to produce 20 aircraft per year has been set for the Kazan Aviation Plant for about two years, but plans are constantly revised, and deadlines are shifted. UAC (United Aircraft Corporation) was supposed to deliver the first «airframe» back in 2024, but then its production was postponed to 2026.
Earlier it became known that airlines received old Tu-214s for use, which were mothballed and stored in a warehouse. Aviation expert Roman Gusarov said that aircraft that are 25 years old cannot be considered old; they are safe for flights. However, such a small number is unlikely to help increase passenger traffic.
