RuAviation

Cargo carrier Sky Gates has operated its maiden flight under its new long-haul freight programme, using the second Il-96-400T aircraft it received at the end of March this year. This was announced by the press office of its parent airline, Red Wings.

On 12th April, aircraft RA-96101 departed from Zhukovsky Airport en route to Yakutsk. The following day saw a flight from the capital of the Sakha Republic to Dubai. Late on 14th April, the Il-96-400T took off for Moscow, landing at Zhukovsky in the early hours of 15th April.

The aircraft was carrying foodstuffs, consumer goods for major retail chains, and parcels for online marketplaces. The flight demonstrated the capability of rapid cargo delivery over transcontinental distances – the flight time from Moscow to Yakutsk was approximately five and a half hours, and from Yakutsk to Dubai, around 10 hours.

The Il-96-400T is a specialised freighter variant of the Il-96-400. Its long range, lengthened fuselage, absence of passenger windows and a wide cargo door make it an ideal aircraft for transport operations. The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 92 tonnes of cargo over a distance of 5,000 km, and with a payload of 40 tonnes, up to 11,550 km.

Sky Gates operates two such aircraft. The first (RA-96103) entered service in December 2023. The second aircraft (RA-96101) was refurbished after ten years in storage and officially handed over to the airline on 27th March 2024. An advantage of the Il-96-400T over foreign counterparts, such as the B747 freighter version, is that it is a Russian-built aircraft, has no dual registration, and can be used on routes and in countries that have not imposed sanctions against Russian aviation.

Sky Gates plans to launch scheduled freight services to Anadyr, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the near future. This will strengthen transport links between the European part of Russia and the Far Eastern regions.