Nordwind Airlines

Nordwind Airlines, LLC (Russian: ООО «Северный ветер», romanizedSeverný veter) is a Russian leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Moscow,[3] and its hub is at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Nordwind Airlines primarily operates service between airports in Russia and holiday destinations around Europe and Asia.[4][failed verification]

Nordwind Airlines
Северный ветер
IATAICAOCallsign
N4NWSNORDLAND
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Operating basesSheremetyevo International Airport
SubsidiariesPegas Fly
Fleet size42
Destinations74
Parent companyPegas Touristik[1]
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia
Key peopleShvetsov Igor (General Director)[2]
Websitehttps://nordwindairlines.ru/en

History edit

Nordwind Airlines was founded in August 2008 by the Russian and Turkish branches of tour operator Pegas Touristik and initially operated three Boeing 757-200s.[5][6]

The number of passengers transported was as follows:[7]

YearPassengers
200820,000
2009555,000
20101.2 million
20111.7 million
20122.2 million
20133.4 million
20144.4 million
20152.6 million
20161.7 million
20173.5 million
20184.9 million
20195.5 million
20202.9 million
20215.9 million [8]

On April 29, 2013, two surface-to-air missiles were fired by unknown forces in Syria at a Nordwind Airlines jet flying from Sharm El Sheikh to Kazan. The pilots took evasive action and the plane continued onto Kazan undamaged.[9]

In 2017, the airline acquired two used A330s.[10]

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nordwind transported approximately 7.4 tons of gold with a market value over $300 million from Venezuela to a refinery near the airport in Entebbe, Uganda. These March 2019 shipments allegedly expose a global underground economy the United States government suspects helps Nicolás Maduro stay in power in Venezuela.[11]

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Nordwind suspended all international flights.[12] A number of leased aircraft, located abroad when the invasion took place have been returned to the lessors.[13] The US Commerce Department, who had previously sanctioned US manufactured aircraft, extended sanctions to the European manufactured Airbus aircraft in Nordwind's fleet in August 2022.[14] Sanctions have also banned Nordwind receiving spare parts for their planes.[15]

Destinations edit

Nordwind Airlines Airbus A321-200
Nordwind Airlines Airbus A330-200
Nordwind Airlines Boeing 737-800
Nordwind Airlines Boeing 777-200ER

In 2021 Nordwind serves 98 destinations in 28 countries including nine countries and 23 cities in Europe, eight countries and 12 cities in the Middle East and Africa, four countries and four cities in South America, and six countries and 14 cities in Asia.

CountryCityAirportNotesRefs
AlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport Nënë TerezaTerminated[16]
ArmeniaYerevanZvartnots International Airport
AzerbaijanBakuHeydar Aliyev International Airport
LankaranLankaran Airport
BelarusMinskMinsk International Airport
CubaCayo CocoCayo Coco AirportSeasonal Charter[17]
HolguínFrank País AirportSeasonal Charter
Santa ClaraAbel Santamaría AirportSeasonal Charter
VaraderoJuan Gualberto Gómez AirportSeasonal Charter
CamagueyIgnacio Agramonte AirportSeasonal Charter
CyprusLarnacaLarnaca International AirportTerminated[16]
Dominican RepublicPuerto PlataGregorio Luperón International AirportSeasonal Charter
Punta CanaPunta Cana International AirportSeasonal Charter
SamanáSamaná El Catey International AirportSeasonal Charter
Santo DomingoLas Américas International AirportSeasonal Charter
EgyptHurghadaHurghada International AirportSeasonal Charter
Sharm El SheikhSharm El Sheikh International AirportSeasonal Charter
GermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg AirportTerminated[18]
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf AirportTerminated[18]
HanoverHannover AirportTerminated[19][18]
GreeceAthensAthens International AirportTerminated[20]
HeraklionHeraklion International AirportTerminated[20]
ThessalonikiThessaloniki AirportTerminated[20]
IndiaGoaDabolim AirportSeasonal Charter
IranTehranTehran Imam Khomeini International Airport
JamaicaMontego BaySangster International AirportSeasonal Charter
JordanAqabaKing Hussein International AirportSeasonal Charter
KazakhstanAlmatyAlmaty International Airport[21]
MaldivesMaleVelana International AirportSeasonal Charter
MexicoCancúnCancún International AirportSeasonal Charter
North MacedoniaSkopjeSkopje International AirportTerminated[22][23]
RussiaBlagoveshchenskIgnatyevo Airport
CheboksaryCheboksary International Airport
ChelyabinskChelyabinsk Airport
IrkutskInternational Airport Irkutsk
IvanovoIvanovo AirportSeasonal[24]
KaliningradKhrabrovo Airport[25]
KazanĞabdulla Tuqay Kazan International AirportFocus city[26]
KhabarovskKhabarovsk Novy Airport
KirovPobedilovo Airport[27]
KrasnodarKrasnodar International AirportTerminated
KrasnoyarskKrasnoyarsk International Airport
MagnitogorskMagnitogorsk International Airport[28]
MakhachkalaUytash Airport[29][30]
Mineralnye VodyMineralnye Vody Airport
MoscowSheremetyevo International AirportHub
NizhnekamskBegishevo Airport
NovosibirskTolmachevo Airport
OmskOmsk Tsentralny Airport
OrenburgOrenburg Tsentralny Airport[31]
PermPerm International Airport
Rostov-on-DonPlatov International AirportTerminated
Saint PetersburgPulkovo Airport
SamaraKurumoch International Airport[32]
SaranskSaransk AirportSeasonal[33]
SaratovSaratov Gagarin Airport[25]
SochiSochi International Airport
SyktyvkarSyktyvkar Airport[28]
UfaMustai Karim Ufa International Airport[34]
UlyanovskUlyanovsk Baratayevka AirportSeasonal[25]
VolgogradVolgograd International Airport
YakutskYakutsk Airport[26]
YekaterinburgKoltsovo International Airport[30]
Russia / Ukraine[A 1]SimferopolSimferopol International AirportTerminated[35]
Saudi ArabiaJeddahKing Abdulaziz International Airport
SerbiaBelgradeBelgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
SpainBarcelonaBarcelona–El Prat AirportTerminated[23]
GironaGirona AirportTerminated[23]
Palma de MallorcaPalma de Mallorca AirportTerminated[23]
ReusReus AirportTerminated[23]
TanzaniaZanzibarAbeid Amani Karume International AirportSeasonal Charter
TajikistanBokhtarBokhtar International Airport
KhujandKhujand Airport[34][31]
ThailandBangkokSuvarnabhumi AirportSeasonal Charter
KrabiKrabi International AirportSeasonal Charter
PattayaU-Tapao International AirportSeasonal Charter
PhuketPhuket International AirportSeasonal Charter
Surat ThaniSurat Thani International Airport
TunisiaDjerbaDjerba–Zarzis International AirportSeasonal Charter
MonastirMonastir Habib Bourguiba International AirportSeasonal Charter
TurkeyAntalyaAntalya AirportSeasonal Charter
DalamanDalaman AirportSeasonal Charter
İzmirİzmir Adnan Menderes AirportSeasonal Charter
IstanbulIstanbul AirportSeasonal Charter
TurkmenistanTurkmenabatTurkmenabat Airport
United Arab EmiratesDubaiAl Maktoum International AirportSeasonal Charter
SharjahSharjah International Airport[36]
UzbekistanFerganaFergana International Airport
KarshiKarshi Airport
NamanganNamangan Airport
SamarkandSamarkand International Airport
UrgenchUrgench International Airport
VenezuelaPorlamarSantiago Mariño Caribbean International AirportSeasonal Charter[37][38]
VietnamNha TrangCam Ranh International AirportSeasonal Charter

Fleet edit

As of January 2024, Nordwind Airlines fleet comprises the following aircraft:[39]

Nordwind Airlines fleet
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
CYTotal
Airbus A321-2005220220
Airbus A321neo2218218
Airbus A330-2002361361
Airbus A330-300334259293
Boeing 737-8001112156168VP-BSA returned to Ireland
VP-BDU returned to lessor
189189
Boeing 777-200ER2440440
Boeing 777-300ER26480486VP-BJP returned to the USA
486486
Irkut MC-21-3005[citation needed]TBA
Total275

In 2022 Air Lease Corporation are seeking to recover two A321neo and four Boeing 737-800s, as the lease payments are not being made.[40]

The fleet previously included the following aircraft:

References edit

  1. ^ "Russia's Nordwind to lease three B737-800s from CBD". ch-aviation. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Nordwind: Senior Management". Archived from the original on 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  3. ^ About Nordwind
  4. ^ "Nordwind - Home". Nordwind.
  5. ^ "Nordwind Airlines (ATDB)". Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Boeing 757 Active with Nordwind Airlines". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  7. ^ About Nordwind
  8. ^ "Passenger traffic at Russian airlines". Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Missiles Fired At Passenger Jet Over Syria 29 April 2013". Sky News. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  10. ^ Montag-Girmes, Polina (July 14, 2017). "Russia's Nordwind Airlines expands fleet with two A330s". Air Transport World.
  11. ^ Steinhauser, Gabriele; Bariyo, Nicholas (2019-06-19). "How 7.4 Tons of Venezuela's Gold Landed in Africa—and Vanished". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  12. ^ "Nordwind Airlines suspends all international flights". Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Five Russian airlines have returned leased jets -document". 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ "The US Adds Another 25 Russian Aircraft To Its Sanctions List". 4 August 2022.
  15. ^ "BIS renews temporary denial orders against Pobeda, Nordwind & Siberian Airlines". 11 January 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Updated: All the European countries affected by Ukraine travel bans and sanctions so far". Euronews. 28 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Flights to Cuba launch from Pulkovo". pulkovoairport.ru. Air Gate of the Northern Capita. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  18. ^ a b c "Ukraine invasion: Russian planes face near-total airspace ban to west". BBC. 27 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Nordwind schedules Hannover service from May 2019".
  20. ^ a b c "Greece closes its airspace for Russian airlines". Reuters. 28 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Nordwind schedules new Central Asia service in 2Q19".
  22. ^ https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/04/norwind-to-launch-skopje-service.html Norwind to launch Skopje Service/
  23. ^ a b c d e "Ukraine travel bans and sanctions: All the countries that have been affected so far". Euronews. 27 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Аэропорт "Иваново" открывает продажу билетов на новый рейс Иваново – Махачкала!". ivanovo.aero. Аэропорт «Иваново». Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  25. ^ a b c "4 старо-новых прямых рейса в Калининград — из Новосибирска, Кирова, Саратова и Ульяновска | Vandrouki.ru". vandrouki.ru. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Кышын Казаннан Кувейт һәм Кытайга авиарейслар җибәрергә планлаштыралар". Казан шәһәренең җирле үзидарә. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  27. ^ Магомедов, Шамиль (18 March 2024). "Nordwind начнет совершать полеты из Махачкалы в Киров". Travel.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Прямые рейсы в Сочи из Магнитогорска и Сыктывкара запустят в феврале". kub-inform.ru. Кубань Информ. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Дагестан с апреля 2024г увеличит частоту авиарейсов в Санкт-Петербург". РБК (in Russian). 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Nordwind начнет летать между Махачкалой и Екатеринбургом". Travel.ru (in Russian). 18 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Стартовала продажа билетов на рейсы из аэропорта Оренбурга в Худжанд". oren.aero. Orenburg Airport JSC. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Nordwind будет выполнять рейсы между Махачкалой и Самарой". Travel.ru (in Russian). 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Авиарейс из Саранска в Махачкалу планируют запустить в мае 2024 года (АвиаПорт)". АвиаПорт.Ru (in Russian). 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  34. ^ a b Субботина, Дарья (29 February 2024). "Для жителей Башкирии возобновят прямые регулярные рейсы из Уфы в Худжанд". www.bashinform.ru (in Russian). Bashinform. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  35. ^ Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
  36. ^ "Nordwind launches sales to Sharjah | Nordwind Airlines".
  37. ^ "Russian Airlines Eye More Destinations in Latin America". 19 August 2021.
  38. ^ "El gobierno ruso autoriza más vuelos hacia Venezuela - Aviacionline.com". 20 September 2021.
  39. ^ "Fleet". nordwindairlines.ru. Nordwind Airlines. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  40. ^ "ALC Is Losing $18 Million Per Quarter On Russian Aircraft Leases". 5 November 2022.
  41. ^ "Airbus A320 in Nordwind Airlines history". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  42. ^ "Boeing 767 in Nordwind Airlines history". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  43. ^ "Nordwind Airlines fleet details". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 1 January 2017.

External links edit

Media related to Nordwind Airlines at Wikimedia Commons