Utair airlines completed first flight from Irkutsk to Ust-Kut under agreements with Irkutsk Region Government and INK

The flight was introduced under the partnership agreement between the air carrier and the Government of the Irkutsk Region and the agreement between the air carrier and Irkutsk Oil Company (INK).

Utair delivers two return flights per day — a regular flight for local residents and a charter flight for INK’s fly-in-fly-out personnel. According to the schedule, the regular flight departs from Ust-Kut at 09:05 and from Irkutsk —at 13:40 (local time), with 1 hour 15 minutes of flying time.

The air carrier deploys comfortable turboprop-powered ATR 72-500 aircraft with a seating capacity of 70 passengers, which is one the most environmentally friendly planes featuring a reduced fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions. It is the only aircraft of such dimensions that boasts a fuel consumption no higher than 3 kg per 100 passenger kilometers.

“Ust-Kut has one of the biggest local airports of the Irkutsk Region. Its passenger flow is growing with each year and now exceeds 100 thousand people. Deploying the modern planes to perform flights between Irkutsk and Ust-Kut will help to make it a more comfortable experience for passengers. The Government of the Irkutsk Region and Utair airlines, the owner of the airport, concluded a partnership agreement to develop the airport,” said the Governor of the Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev.

“Ust-Kut is an important regional air hub handling passenger and cargo transportation, including for the oil and gas sector companies. Availability of regular flights between Irkutsk and Ust-Kut delivered with modern comfortable aircraft will significantly improve transport accessibility of the region. The flights will be performed on a year-round basis,” said Utair General Director Andrey Martirosov.

The Government of the Irkutsk Region will assist with arrangements for reconstruction of the runway, taxiways, apron, and aircraft parking areas.

Ust-Kut is the location of INK’s main production assets and the Irkutsk Polymer Plant under construction, which increases the demand in the transportation hub.

“We appreciate our partners’ cooperation. Today, Ust-Kut is the driver of the development of our entire region, and we hope that increasing the number of flights is the first step in the development of the airport infrastructure,” said Mr. Ginzburg, INK General Director, Chairman of the Executive Board.

Utair is the world’s biggest air carrier in terms of helicopter fleet size and its lifting capacity. For more than 50 years, the company has been focusing on aviation services for the fuel and energy sector and Russia’s remotest regions.

Irkutsk Oil Company (INK) is an independent Russian producer of raw hydrocarbons. The company incorporated in 2000 engages in geological study, exploration and development of 53 subsoil blocks in the Irkutsk Region, Krasnoyarsk Region and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In Ust-Kut, INK is implementing a project consisting of raw hydrocarbons production, treatment, transportation and processing facilities, a helium plant and Irkutsk Polymer Plant. In 2023, INK joined the top 5 best employers in the fuel and energy sector and top 100 of Russia’s best employers according to the rating of HeadHunter. The INK Group now counts around 17 thousand employees.