ABC about to return?
Izvestia has learned that Russia's largest cargo airline, which ceased all its operations March 2022, is soon to be reactivated. According to two sources of the Russian daily, Air Bridge Cargo Airlines (ABC) will begin regular flights on the Moscow-Beijing route from June 2023.
However, since ABC cannot access its fleet of Boeing aircraft, it will be leasing Il-96-400 freighters instead. A first plane is probably being refurbished at the moment, a second one is to be added early next year.
According to Izvestia, the cargo airline, which is part of the Volga-Dnepr Group, is ready to expand its fleet to ten units of this Russian-built type of aircraft, which will help eliminate Russia's dependence on Western manufacturers for cargo aviation.
Read other news from Eastern and Central Europe, the Baltics and Central Asia in today's ITJ 15-16/2023 special! (ah)