RuAviation

Sky Gates, a subsidiary of Red Wings, has added a second Ilyushin Il-96-400T aircraft to its fleet. Aircraft RA-96101 has undergone all necessary preparation procedures and is ready for service. The acceptance documents for the aircraft were signed on March 27th, according to a press release from Red Wings.

Sky Gates now operates a fleet of three cargo aircraft: two Il-96-400Ts and one Il-76TD. Aircraft RA-96101 is planned to be deployed on Sky Gates’ freight routes. The airline’s fleet will continue to expand with domestically produced aircraft in the future.

The Il-96-400T is a freighter variant of the wide-body Il-96 passenger aircraft. The aircraft has a maximum payload of 92 tonnes. With a full load, it has a range of 5,000 km, and with a 40-tonne payload, up to 11,550 km. The extended fuselage, absence of windows, and wide side cargo door make the passenger model an optimal solution for addressing transport tasks.

Il-96-400T with registration RA-96101 was operated by Polet Airlines from 2009 to 2013. In 2024, after more than a decade in storage, the aircraft was restored to airworthiness. The test flight of this freighter took place in Voronezh on December 29th of last year.

Red Wings acquired Sky Gates in the summer of 2023, focusing on cargo operations. The first Il-96-400T (RA-96103) entered service in December 2023. A source at Aviation of Russia in Zhukovsky, where the airline is based, noted that the return of another Il-96-400T to service is a landmark event for the Russian aviation industry.

“Sky Gates demonstrates that even after a long period of dormancy, equipment can be returned to operation. For our transport aviation sector, this represents new opportunities in the field of cargo transport both domestically and internationally,” the source emphasised.