Vnukovo Airlines


Vnukovo Airlines is a defunct Russian airline which had its corporate headquarters at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow. It was created as a spin-off from the Vnukovo Airport division of Aeroflot in March 1993 and operated until 2001, when it was bought by Siberian Airlines.
Passenger aircraft types operated by the airline on scheduled flights from Vnukovo included the Ilyushin Il-86 and the Tupolev Tu-154.

History

The airline commenced operations in 1994 as Vnukovo Air Enterprise, which had been spun off from Aeroflot. It became the one of the biggest charter airlines in Russia in the 1990s and had nearby 100 destinations from various cities and countries. The airline was also the launch customer for the Tupolev Tu-204.
In 1997, Siberia Airlines tried to buy the airline in order to make Moscow its next main hub, but was unsuccessful. After the 1998 Russian financial crisis, the airline was in danger of bankruptcy and Siberia Airlines suggested a merger, but was again rebuffed. In 1999 Siberia Airlines signed a letter of intent to take over Vnukovo Airlines in the event Vnukovo ceased its operations. Vnukovo went bankrupt in 2001 and the Siberia Airlines takeover went ahead.

Fleet


AircraftNumber
Ilyushin Il-8618
Tupolev Tu-15416
Tupolev Tu-2042

Accidents and incidents