UTair Aviation showcased a transport model combining charter and shift-based flight operations at the First National Airport Infrastructure & Civil Aviation Show held at Talakan Airport in the Sakha Republic, Yakutia.
UTair Aviation has performed charter flights to the Talakan Airport to support Surgutneftegas crew changes with Boeing 737 aircraft since 2012. Employees are transported from Surgut where they arrive from different points of origin on various regularly scheduled UTair flights. Surgutneftegas employees reach their final destinations aboard UTair helicopters based in Talakan Airport that deliver them to remote work sites. UTair helicopters in turn pick up employees who have ended their shifts. This transport model combining fixed wing aircraft and helicopters from a single airline offers flexibility in scheduling routes and terms of transport, saves time and reduces customer costs.
In all 84,218 passengers were transported on the Sugut-Talakan-Surgut route in 2013. Considering the active development of the Talakan field, an increase in the volume of transport is expected in the coming years and will include the launch of scheduled flights for passengers from far-off regions in Yakutia, Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk Krai.
The Talakan Airport opened in November 2012 and represents a modern civil aviation complex aimed at serving the transport needs of the Talakan field, the largest oil and gas field in Russia.
The airport has capacity for 200 passengers per hour. The POL depot can hold up to 600 m3 of fuel. Apart from the apron able to accommodate four aircraft, the airport has a separate helicopter landing field. The airport is equipped with advanced navigation equipment and has a 2,900 m runway with an abrasion-resistant reinforced concrete surface that accommodates landing for almost all aircraft types including those in the Airbus A320/321 and Boeing 737 families.
