TYUMEN, MAY 12, (RIA Novosti's Alexander Perestoronin) - The UTair company from Siberia's Khanty-Mansi autonomous area is to start working on Sumatra island, Indonesia, May 12, in line with a UN contract. The company will aid the city of Banda Aceh that suffered most of all after the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. This was disclosed to RIA Novosti here today at the airline's press center.
UTair and the United Nations World Food Programme signed a three-month contract. According to its provisions, the Russian company's Mil Mi-8-T helicopter will deliver foodstuffs, essentials and other consignments during clean-up operations.
On May 8 an Ilyushin Il-76 cargo jet delivered that helicopter and its crew from Tyumen to Medan, Sumatra. The helicopter has already been assembled, performing its first test flight.
UTair was founded in 1934 for supporting navigation along the northern sea route. Western Siberia expanded oil-and-gas production at a breath-taking pace. However, the Tyumen region lacked railroads and highways. Consequently, aircraft and helicopters became very popular there. Aviation made it possible to develop Western Siberian natural resources in no time at all.
UTair, which was previously known as the Tyumen civil-aviation administration, was renamed as Tyumenaviatrans in 1991. The company received its current name in 2002. UTair, which controls the Russian air-transport market, ranks among the world's four largest helicopter operators.
