The United Aircraft Corporation has handed over the first restored Il-96-400T cargo aircraft with the tail number RA-96103 to Sky Gates Airlines, which belongs to Red Wings, RBC reports citing a source in the aviation industry.
The source specified that the transfer took place in mid-November. The machine will be operated in the fleet of Sky Gates airline, which Red Wings bought in the summer of 2023. A representative of the leasing company Ilyushin Finance confirmed the transfer of the aircraft to RBC. The aircraft will be maintained by Red Wings.
The RA-96103 was built in 2009 at the Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Building Company (VASO). In August 2023, it took to the air for the first time after an eight-year break. Previously, until 2013, this aircraft belonged to Polot Airlines, which ceased operations. In late 2014 and early 2015, the aircraft was used for a series of flights as part of the Il-96-400TZ refuelling aircraft programme, which was not further developed.
Sky Gates Airlines will receive two Il-96-400T freighters, previously assigned to AirBridgeCargo Airlines, part of Volga-Dnepr Group. Volga-Dnepr publicly announced these plans in spring 2023, at which time the RA-96103 was repainted at VASO in ABC livery. In early 2024, the company expected to receive a second similar machine, RA-96101, which will now be taken over by Sky Gates Airlines.
In August 2023, RA-96103 flew from Voronezh to Ulyanovsk, where it was repainted at Spektr-Avia in the livery of its new airline.
