OREANDA-NEWS. February 10, 2012. February 7, 2012 marks 45 years since the founding of UTair Aviation. These years have been a remarkable period in the history of civil aviation. UTair Aviation launched operations of two of the world’s most renowned aircraft – the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft and the Mil Mi-26 helicopter. Dozens of airports, hundreds of runways and heliports were constructed during this period.

The new routes were launched and operations were developed across the huge territories of Western and Eastern Siberia and foreign countries. Furthermore, the Tyumen Civil Aviation Department, which later became Tyumenaviatrans and then UTair, helped to develop and launch quickly the fuel and energy complex in Western Siberia, which became a critical factor in the sustainable development of the region for many years.

Many thousands of the airline's employees have been recognized both in Russia and abroad: five UTair employees have been awarded the high title of Hero of Socialist Labor, hundreds of employees have been acknowledged with the state and departmental awards and honors from leading international aviation organizations.

UTair Group, a leading airline will celebrate its anniversary with outstanding results: in 2011 its fixed wing aircraft and rotorcraft logged nearly 400,000 hours, transported approximately 8 million passengers, delivered 180,000 tons of cargo and nearly 5,000 tons of mail.

These extraordinary results were achieved through the outstanding effort of the entire UTair workforce, including our pilots and our ground personnel, who have demonstrated well-orchestrated, productive, and at times heroic work.