AirBridgeCargo Airlines, LLC (Russian: ООО Авиакомпания «ЭйрБриджКарго»), part of Volga-Dnepr Group, was the largest Russian cargo airline, with its head office in Moscow. It operates scheduled cargo services on routes between Russia, Asia, Europe and North America, covering more than 30 destinations worldwide. All flights connect to their hub at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk. It was forced to suspend all operations in the wake of sanctions against Russia as of March 2022.[1]
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| Founded | 2003 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | March 2022 (suspended)[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Moscow | ||||||
| Focus cities | Moscow | ||||||
| Alliance | No Alliance | ||||||
| Fleet size | —[citation needed] | ||||||
| Destinations | 37[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Volga-Dnepr Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Moscow, Russia | ||||||
| Key people | Savva Shelkovoy | ||||||
| Employees | more than 1300 | ||||||
| Website | airbridgecargo.com | ||||||
History
editThe company entered the scheduled cargo market on 1 April 2004, when the first AirBridgeCargo branded Boeing 747 made its inaugural commercial flight on route from Beijing to Luxembourg.[citation needed]
As of March 2022, AirBridgeCargo was forced to suspend all operations due to sanctions against Russia which rendered the entire fleet unusable.[1] In July 2022, the airline announced it would comply with sanctions and prepare to return 14 leased aircraft - which made up the majority of its fleet - to its lessors.[3]
In March 2023, it became known that the company planned to resume flights using Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft. Volga-Dnepr had begun searching for pilots with appropriate training.[4] However, by late 2023 these plans were abandoned, with two Il-96 formerly stored and already prepared for AirBridgeCargo being delivered to Sky Gates Airlines instead.[5]
Destinations
editPrior to the suspension of all services, ABC had been present in Asia, Europe and North America. It operates a scheduled freighter route network of 37 destinations as of November 2019, focused on Europe, Asia and the United States.[2]
Fleet
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Current fleet
editAs of March 2024, AirBridgeCargo currently no longer operates any aircraft after returning their fleet to its lessors.[3]
Former fleet
editAirBridgeCargo formerly operated the following aircraft:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-400SF | 1 | 2015 | 2017 | |
| Boeing 747-200F | 5 | 2004 | 2012 | |
| Boeing 747-300SF | 1 | 2005 | 2012 | |
| Boeing 747-400F | 12 | 2007 | 2022 | |
| Boeing 747-8F | 13 | 2010 | 2024 | |
| Boeing 777F | 1 | 2020 | 2022 |
Accidents and incidents
edit- On September 11, 2012, an AirBridgeCargo Boeing 747-8F experienced a major engine malfunction that spread a significant amount of metallic debris on the runway. Like in a similar event during pre-flight taxi tests, the low pressure turbine shaft separated and moved the low pressure turbine (by design to avoid turbine overspeed) backwards braking on surrounding hardware.[6][vague][importance?]
- On July 31, 2013, an AirBridgeCargo Boeing 747-8F experienced core engine icing that caused engine malfunctions and damage to three engines near Chengdu, China, while en route to Hong Kong; the aircraft landed safely at its destination. Boeing and General Electric would later work on software changes to mitigate the effects of core engine icing.[7][8][9][importance?]
References
edit- ^ a b c aircargonews.net - VDG confirms suspension of AirBridgeCargo and Atran operations 21 March 2022
- ^ a b airbridgecargo.com - Our network retrieved 27 February 2021
- ^ a b aircargonews.net - AirBridgeCargo applies to return freighters to lessors 1 July 2022
- ^ "Крупнейшая грузовая компания России возобновит полеты после года простоя". rbc.ru (in Russian). 2023-03-28.
- ^ flugrevue.de (German) 4 December 2023
- ^ Simon Hradecky. "Incident: Air Bridge Cargo B748 at Shanghai on Sep 11th 2012, rejected takeoff".
- ^ Guy Norris (September 2, 2013). "Core Engine Icing Strikes Russian 747-8F". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ Simon Hradecky (n.d.). "Incident: Air Bridhe Cargo B748 near Hong Kong on Jul 31st 2013, both left hand engines surged at same time, one right hand engine damaged too". Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ Polina Borodina (n.d.). "Russia to investigate AirBridgeCargo 747-8F engine incident with Boeing, GE". Retrieved September 2, 2013.
External links
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Media related to AirBridgeCargo Airlines at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Official website (in Russian)
