Saratov Airlines (Saratov Airlines Joint Stock Company, , ''Saratovskiye avialinii'') was a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

headquartered in

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

and based at Saratov Tsentralny Airport. The company ceased operating on 30 May 2018 after the Russian aviation authority refused to renew its operating certificate.

History

Saratov Airlines was founded in 1931. It was called "Saratov United Air Squad" and was a part of Aeroflot. Until late 2013 the airline was branded ''Saravia'' (). In December 2013, Saratov Airlines became the first Russian operator of

Embraer E-Jets The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast, narrow-body, short- to medium-range, twin-engined jet airliners designed and produced by Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed to complement Embraer’s earlier ...

, with the arrival of two Embraer 195 aircraft.aviationtribune.com – Saratov Airlines Adds Two Further Embraer 195 Aircraft
6 December 2017 On 14 October 2015, the Russian aviation authorities sanctioned Saratov Airlines after a violation of security rules. The airline was therefore no longer allowed to operate flights to destinations outside of Russia from 26 October 2015.ch-aviation.com – Rosaviatsia sanctions Saratov Airlines for safety violations
14 October 2015 However, by May 2016 the airline had resumed international charter services. In July 2017, it was announced that the airline had signed a letter of intent to lease six Irkut MC-21-300s at the

MAKS Air Show MAKS (, ) is an international air show held at Zhukovsky International Airport, the home of the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast, Zhukovsky, southeast of Moscow, Russia. The event was organized by the Russian Ministr ...

in Moscow scheduled to be delivered from 2022–2025. On 20 March 2018, the Russian Ministry of Transport ordered the suspension of all Saratov Airline flights following the investigation into the crash of Flight 703. The airline responded with a message on its website stating that it "continues to carry out flights on Embraer-190 and Yak-42 aircraft". Later in the day it emerged that the Ministry of Transport had shortened the period of validity of the airline's operating certificate to 27 April 2018. On 2 April the Russian aviation authority called on the airline to voluntarily cease operating due to its management's "unprecedented and irresponsible" attitude towards ensuring the safety of passengers and crew. One of the reasons for this reaction was the airline's submission of a list of current planes and crew which included the aircraft that crashed and crew members who died in February. On 10 April 2018, it was announced that Saratov Airlines planned to re-brand itself as ''Ivolga Airlines''. The reasons for this action are various: some experts say this is due to the air crash that occurred in February, by taking the idea from S7 Airlines and Nordavia, that re-branded after air crashes in 2006 and 2009, respectively; some experts say that it is because the airline now flies from hubs other than Saratov, such as Moscow-Domodedovo and Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo. However, the envisioned rebranding never took place. On 17 May 2018, the Russian aviation authority ordered the airline to stop selling tickets by the end of May. Initially, the company stated that it would permanently cease operations on 31 May. However, later it removed this information from its website, resumed selling tickets, and told the media that it expects its operating certificate to be re-issued no later than 27 May. This however, did not happen and the airline ceased all flights and ticket sales on 30 May 2018. The airline continues to operate the only airport in the

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Saratov. As of the 2021 Russian cens ...

Destinations

As of May 2018, Saratov Airlines operated the following domestic scheduled and international charter passenger flights:saratovairlines.ru – Расписание ("Schedule")
(Russian) retrieved 25 May 2016 ;Armenia *

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

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Zvartnots International Airport Zvartnots International Airport () is located near Zvartnots, west of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. It acts as the main international airport of Armenia and is Yerevan's main international transport hub. It is the busiest airport in ...

;Georgia *

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

– Tbilisi International Airport ;Russia * Blagoveshensk –

Ignatyevo Airport Ignatyevo Airport () is an international airport in Amur Oblast, Russia, located near the village of Ignatyevo north-west of Blagoveshchensk. The large airport services up to medium-sized airliners with parking space for 44 civilian aircraft, ...

* Chita –

Kadala Airport Chita-Kadala International Airport is a single runway airport, located in Chita ( rus, Чита, p=tɕɪˈta), the administrative center of Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a ...

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

– International Airport Irkutsk * Kirov – Pobedilovo Airport *

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

– Pashkovsky Airport *

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

– Yemelyanovo International Airport base *

Mineralnye Vody Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located along the Kuma River and the main rail ...

–

Mineralnye Vody Airport Mineralnye Vody Airport () (also written as Mineralnyye Vody Airport, which "Mineralnye Vody" literally translates to Mineral Waters) is an airport in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located west of Mineralnye Vody. It features a civilian terminal are ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

–

Moscow Domodedovo Airport Moscow Domodedovo International Airport ( rus, links=no, аэропорт Домодедово, p=dəmɐˈdʲɛdəvə) (International Air Transport Association, IATA: DME, International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO: UUDD), formally Domodedo ...

Nizhnevartovsk Nizhnevartovsk ( rus, Нижневартовск, p=nʲɪʐnʲɪˈvartəfsk) is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. Since the 1960s, the Western Siberian oil boom has led to Nizhnevartovsk's rapid growth from a small settlem ...

–

Nizhnevartovsk Airport Nizhnevartovsk Airport () is a major airport in Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and ext ...

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

–

Strigino Airport Strigino Airport ( ) (also referred to as Nizhny Novgorod International Airport ()) is the international airport serving the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It is located on the outskirts of the city's Avtozavodsky City District, Nizhny Novgo ...

Orsk Orsk () is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Population: It lies adjacent to the Kazakhstan–Russia border. ...

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Orsk Airport Orsk Airport () is an international airport in Russia located south of Orsk. It services medium-sized airliners. The terminal building is located around 3 km from the Kazakhstan-Russia border, border to Kazakhstan, with some equipment loc ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

–

Pulkovo Airport Pulkovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Аэропорт Пулково, p=ˈpuɫkəvə, Location identifier#Russian location identifier, Internal code: ПЛК) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the List of the busiest ...

– Saratov Tsentralny Airport base *

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

– Simferopol International Airport *

Surgut Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł, Сө̆ркут, sörkut'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the fe ...

–

Surgut International Airport Surgut Airport , also listed as Surgut North Airport, is an airport in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located north of Surgut. It services medium-sized airliners. In 2018, Surgut Airport handled 1,758,310 passengers. In May 2019, the ai ...

''seasonal charter'' * Ufa –

Ufa International Airport Ufa International Airport (, ''Mezhdunarodnyy aeroport Ufa'', ) is the primary airport serving Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. In 2017, the airport handled 2,810,000 passengers, becoming the tenth largest airport in Russia and the ...

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; , ; , ) is the capital city of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River, Buryatia, Uda River at its confluence with the Selenga River, Selenga. According to the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census, 43 ...

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Baikal International Airport Baikal International Airport, formerly Ulan-Ude Airport , is an international airport located west of Ulan-Ude, Russia. The airport has two terminals with customs and border control facilities with a capacity of 400 passengers per hour. In 202 ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

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Vladivostok International Airport Vladivostok International Airport ( ''Mezhdunarodnyi aeroport Vladivostok'') is an international airport located near Artyom, Primorsky Krai, Russia, roughly an hour's drive () north of the center of the city of Vladivostok. It was formerly know ...

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

– Gumrak Airport *

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

–

Koltsovo Airport Koltsovo International Airport () is the international airport serving Yekaterinburg, Russia, located 16 km (10 mi) southeast of the city. Being the largest airport in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Koltsovo also serves nearby towns such as Aram ...

Fleet

As of May 2018, shortly before Saratov Airlines ceased operations, the fleet included the following aircraft:

Incidents and accidents

On 11 February 2018, Saratov Airlines flight 703, disappeared from radar and crashed less than ten minutes after takeoff. The flight, operated using an An-148 and scheduled to depart from Moscow's Domodedovo airport to the Russian city of Orsk, had 71 people on board; 65 passengers and six crew members. The crash occurred near the village of Stepanovskoye about 50 miles southeast of

. No one on board survived the plane crash.

References

External links

Official website
{{Airlines of Russia Defunct airlines of Russia Former Aeroflot divisions Airlines established in 1931 Airlines disestablished in 2018 1931 establishments in the Soviet Union 2018 disestablishments in Russia Companies based in Saratov Government-owned airlines