Aurora Airlines is expanding its route network and is opening a new socially significant destination within the framework of the federal subsidy program. On December 6, 2023, the Airline successfully completed its first flight from the city of Kurilsk, located on the island of Iturup, to the capital of the Far East - Vladivostok.
Flights on the Kurilsk – Vladivostok – Kurilsk route are operated on Wednesdays on a DHC-8 aircraft with an arrangement of up to 70 seats. The duration of the flight is about 2 hours and 50 minutes. The flight departs from Kurilsk at 18:05 and arrives in Vladivostok at 19:55, the return flight from Vladivostok will be carried out the next day, Thursday, at 11:30 and arrive at Iturup at 15:10. Local time. The cost of the ticket is 5,640 rubles. one way.
In honor of the departure of the first flight, a solemn event was held at the Kurilsk airport, at which representatives of the Aurora Airline, acting head of the city of Kurilsk Anna Oskina and General Director of the state-owned enterprise Airports of the Kuril Islands Leonid Paly made welcoming speeches.
"The Kuril Islands are unique. This is an outpost of the Russian Federation. And the development of these territories should be more active. It's not just about the economy and attracting investors, modernizing social infrastructure and improving people's quality of life. An equally important area is the support of the tourism industry. In particular, it is necessary to expand the route network of air travel. So, in addition to flights from Kurilsk (Iturup Island) to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it became possible to fly directly to Vladivostok on a weekly basis. The flights will be operated by the united Far Eastern aviation company Aurora, created on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in order to increase transport accessibility and improve the quality of air transportation," Yuri Trutnev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District, commented on the launch of the new flight.
"Due to the remote location of Iturup, the island's population is experiencing certain difficulties in ensuring transport accessibility. The new flight will significantly improve this situation, residents will be able to have regular and reliable flights to Primorsky Krai, which will allow them to be more mobile and free in planning their trips," said Konstantin Sukhorebrik, General Director of Aurora Airlines.
The next day, December 7, the first passengers departing for Kurilsk were escorted off in a solemn atmosphere at Vladivostok International Airport. It is symbolic that the departure of the first flight from Vladivostok to Kurilsk took place on the International Civil Aviation Day. The management and representatives of JSC Aurora Airlines and JSC Vladivostok International Airport warmly welcomed the first passengers.
"The Ministry of Regional Development of Russia and the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, together with ministries and departments, regional authorities, are working to increase the transport accessibility of the macroregion. Reliable and affordable air service is a vital and strategic factor for the transport connectivity of the vast territories of the Far East, and also directly affects socio-economic development and investment attractiveness. The United airline is successfully working in this direction, expanding its route network. In addition, residents of priority development territories are working to improve transport accessibility, creating new transport infrastructure using state support tools: new airports have already been put into operation and are being built. In order to provide the Aurora Airline with new aircraft, an integrated production center for the LMS-901 Baikal multipurpose aircraft is being created in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the territory of advanced development," said Sergey Skali, Deputy General Director for Investment Project Support at KRDV.
Avrora Airlines JSC was founded in 2013 and is the largest and dynamically developing airline in the Far East. The Aurora aircraft fleet consists of 19 aircraft: eight medium-haul Airbus A319, eight DHC-8 and three intraregional DHC-6 aircraft.
In 2021, on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, a Single Far Eastern Airline was established on the basis of Aurora Airlines JSC with the integration of regional airlines - Khabarovsk Airlines, Yakutia Airlines, Polar Airlines, Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, ChukotAVIA, belonging to the relevant subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District.
Aurora has a confirmed IOSA audit certificate. Aurora, together with partner airlines, operates regular flights on 62 routes. The route network covers all 11 subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District. Aurora Airlines also operates regular socially significant flights on intraregional routes in the Sakhalin Region, Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories.
Aurora Airlines is the winner of the prestigious Wings of Russia Award in the nomination "Domestic Air Transportation in Group 2" in 2018, and in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 — in the nomination "Air transportation on regional and local routes". Aurora Airline - "Trademark of the Year of the Far East Of the East" in the nomination "Regional brand" in 2018 and in the nomination "Innovative brand" in 2019. Aurora Airlines was recognized as the best operator of DHC-8 Q400 aircraft in Europe by the end of 2019 and was awarded the Airline Reliability Awards. By the end of 2021, Aurora Airlines received the main Skyway Service Award in the nomination "Best Regional Airline".Please note that this press release is based on materials provided by the company. AK&M Information Agency shall not be held liable for its contents, nor for the legal and other consequences of its publication.
