Despite withdrawal of IAC certificate, Russian airlines are continuing to fly Boeing 737s today

Russian airlines are continuing flights using Boeing 737s, despite a decision this week by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) to withdraw the certificate for this particular type of aircraft.

In a comment to the news agency Interfax, the airline Pobeda, whose entire fleet consists of Boeing 737s, said, "Our planes fly on the basis of a license from the Bermuda Islands."

Aeroflot and S7, according to the aviation website AEX.ru, are also continuing their Boeing 737 flights, apparently without any restrictions.

Russian aviation officials say they won't take any formal action, until they can confirm the authenticity of the IAC's ruling, which appeared on the organization's website on November 4. "We haven't received an original copy of the letter, so we've invited representatives from the IAC to a meeting that will take place tomorrow [November 6]," Rosaviation head Sergey Izvolsky told RIA Novosti.

In a radio interview earlier today, Boeing's representative in Russia, Yelena Alexandrova, said, "I can't say that it's a fake, because there's still insufficient information. But it sounds absurd and so far it doesn't make any sense what's going on."