RuAviation

In October 2024, Volga-Dnepr Airlines completed its second season of forest fire patrol and suppression operations in the Central Federal District. The work was carried out under a tripartite agreement with the Moscow Department of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Fire Safety, the Federal Forestry Agency and with the support of Moscow and federal aviation organizations. The airline monitored fires on the territory of 135 thousand square kilometers, identifying and promptly reporting them to ground services, the airline’s press service said.

The 2024 season was significantly different from the previous one, the number of flights increased by 40% compared to 2023. This is due to the hot summer, confirmed by the report of the Copernicus observation program. From the beginning of May to the end of September, more than 1,120 flights were made, thanks to which fire hotspots in the Smolensk, Moscow, Kaluga and Tula regions were promptly extinguished. These measures made it possible to prevent the development of emergency situations and minimize the consequences of fires.

Ten aircraft were used for aerial monitoring this season: four Cessna-172, four Cessna-182 and two An-2 aircraft equipped with fire extinguishing devices. These aircraft served 13 routes totaling more than 7,000 kilometers. In total, the flight time of all crews amounted to more than 4,000 hours, and all crew members spent 175 days in the sky.

“Muscovites remember well the smoke in the city in 2002 and the abnormal heat of 40 in 2010, which led to the burning of peat bogs in the south-east of the region and the strongest smog in the capital. Therefore, in conditions when the transport airline is deprived of the opportunity to fully engage in cargo transportation, its seasonal contribution becomes an important part of a comprehensive strategy to protect forest areas from fire. This is important both from the point of view of social responsibility and in line with the efforts to protect nature and reduce damage from climatic emergencies,” Andrey Velichko, Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Aviation website commented.

The airline’s press service added that despite the difficulties associated with the abnormal heat wave, the project’s implementation proved that Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ accumulated experience allows it to respond promptly to nature’s challenges. Joint efforts with city and federal agencies show that an integrated approach and innovations in air patrol operations can significantly improve the efficiency of forest firefighting.