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Azur Air

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Not to be confused with Azul Airlines.
Azur Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZF AZV AZUR AIR
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
HubsVnukovo International Airport
SubsidiariesAzur Air Ukraine
Fleet size16
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key peopleAlexander Zosymov, General Director
Websiteazurair.ru

Azur Air (Russian: Азур Эйр), formerly Katekavia and stylised as azurair, is a charter airline and former regional airline in Russia. Initially it was based in Krasnoyarsk Cheremshanka Airport, the domestic airport serving Krasnoyarsk, and its destinations were all within Krasnoyarsk Krai.[1] Nowadays it mainly serves leisure destinations such as the route Moscow to Bodrum, offering an All-Business class charter.[2]

History

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Katekavia

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The airline started operations in 1995 and operates regional flights out of Krasnoyarsk Cheremshanka Airport and Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo Airport.[3][4] The airline also operates charter services to Siberia and Yakutia. It carried around 122,000 passengers in 2009,[citation needed] and in 2010 started to acquire larger aircraft, mainly the Tupolev Tu-134. As of 3 April 2014, it had three Tupolev Tu-134s.[4]

In April 2014, the airline commenced scheduled flights between larger Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo Airport and further cities in Siberia: Surgut and Tomsk. The airline received international media and social media attention in 2014, when a video emerged of passengers on a scheduled flight from Igarka to Krasnoyarsk disembarking pre-departure to push their plane in temperatures of minus 52 degrees Celsius after its chassis froze.[5]

Azur Air

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In 2015, Katekavia handed over its fleet to Turukhan Airlines. Katekavia was rebranded as a leisure carrier and renamed Azur Air.[6][7]

In February 2018, the Russian aviation authority RosAviatsiya announced that Azur Air faces a suspension of its operational licence by 20 March 2018 if the carrier does not resolve alleged safety violations by then. As this would lead to the shut down of all flight operations, Russian tourism agency RosTourism advised tour operators to not sell tickets on Azur Air for the time being.[8]

On 8 April 2022, the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on aircraft manufactured in the US for Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Belavia, Rossiya and Utair. It seems the US wants to reclaim ownership of the intellectual property.[9] On 16 June, the US broadened its restrictions on the six airlines after violations of the sanctions regime were detected. The effect of the restrictions is to ground the US-manufactured part of its fleet.[9]

As of July 2022, Azur Air was forced to drastically reduce its international network due to sanctions against Russia as well as the recall of several aircraft by their lessors in accordance with these.[10]

Fleet

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Azur Air Boeing 757-200
Azur Air Boeing 767-300ER

Current fleet

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The Azur Air fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September 2024:[11]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 757-200 5 — — 238 238
1 72 — 72 1 equipped in all-business class configuration.[11]
Boeing 767-300ER 6 — — 336 336
Total 12 —

Former fleet

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Azur Air additionally formerly operated the following aircraft types:[11]

Accidents and incidents

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Crash site of Katekavia Flight 9357
Main article: Katekavia Flight 9357
  • On 3 August 2010, a Katekavia Antonov An-24 crashed on approach to Igarka Airport, killing twelve people. The crash was caused by pilot error. As a result of the crash, the Russian government started to investigate how Katekavia operated their flights.[12]
  • In January 2023, a Boeing 757 with flight registration RA-73071 and flight number AZV2463 from Perm, Russia, to Goa, India, was affected by an e-mail bomb threat causing it to be diverted to Termez Airport in Uzbekistan for inspection while flying over Pakistan airspace. The threat was eventually determined to be false and the flight, which carried 238 passengers including two infants and seven crew members, was allowed to continue to its destination. This incident followed a bomb threat against a flight from Moscow to Goa which led to an emergency landing at Jamnagar airport in Gujarat.[13][14]
  • On 5 February 2023, a Boeing 767 with flight number ZF3774 from Phuket, Thailand, to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, aborted take-off after the aircraft's tire exploded.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Авиакомпания "КАТЭКАВИА": регулярные и чартерные перевозки по России, доставка грузов, самолёты в аренду". Katekavia.ru. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Premium classes of service". azurair.ru. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Katekavia". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  4. ^ a b "russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Passengers forced to push their frozen plane in Siberia". Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Авиакомпания "Турухан" завершила формирование самолетного парка". 12 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Siberian Sun". Airliner World: 8. July 2015.
  8. ^ ch-aviation.com - Russia's tourism body warns against selling Azur Air tickets 27 February 2018
  9. ^ a b "US Broadens Restrictions on Belarus National Airline After Violations". VOA News. 16 June 2022.
  10. ^ aerotelegraph.com - "Azur Air forced to ground half its fleet" (German) 1 July 2022
  11. ^ a b c "Azur Air Fleet". planespotters.net. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Crash: Katekavia AN24 at Igarka on 3 August 2010, impacted ground short of runway". Aviation Herald. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Azur Air flight from Russia to India diverted after second bomb threat in two weeks". Al Arabiya English. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Moscow-Goa flight diverted to Uzbekistan after bomb threat: Police". Times of India. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  15. ^ Clarke, Jamie (5 February 2023). "BREAKING: Azur Air 767 Engine Bursts Into Flames - AviationSource News". Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  16. ^ Noëth, Bart (5 February 2023). "Azur Air Boeing 767-300 rejects take-off at Phuket, Thailand". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
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Media related to Azur Air at Wikimedia Commons

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