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| Founded | March 5, 1996 | |||
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| Hubs | Minsk International Airport | |||
| Frequent flyer program | Belavia Leader | |||
| Fleet size | 17 | |||
| Destinations | 23 | |||
| Parent company | State Owned | |||
| Headquarters | Minsk, Belarus | |||
| Key people | Anatoliy Nikolaevich Gusarov (General Director) | |||
| Website | http://belavia.by | |||
Belavia Belarusian Airlines (Belarusian: Белавія; Russian: Белавиа) is the national airline company of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk.[1] the state-owned company is the Belarussian flag carrier. Belavia serves a network of routes between European cities and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Its base is Minsk International Airport[2]. The airline has 1,017 employees[2].
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History
On 7 November 1933 the first Belarusian air terminal opened in Minsk. In the next spring 3 Po-2 aircraft landed in Minsk. They became the first aircraft of the Belarusian air fleet. In 1936 the first regular air route between Minsk and Moscow was established. In the summer of 1940 the Belarusian civil aviation group was officially founded.
In 1964 the Tupolev Tu-124 aircraft received Belarusian registration. In 1973 the then new Tupolev Tu-134A began operating in Belarus. In 1983 Belarusian aviation started flying the new Tupolev Tu-154 planes.
On 1 February 1985 a Soviet Tupolev Tu-134 crashed near Minsk-1 killing at least 58 out of 80 people on board. The accident happened due to clear ice ingestion into the engines as a result of inadequate deicing before takeoff. Both engines sustained serious damage and stalled.
The airline was officially founded on 5 March 1996 in accordance with a resolution of the Belarusian Government "About the restructuring of air transport of the Republic Belarus", when the local Aeroflot division was nationalized and renamed. Between then and 1998 Belavia opened regular routes to Beijing, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Prague, and Rome. In 1998 Belavia merged with Minsk Avia, acquiring several Antonov An-24, Antonov An-26 and Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft in addition to existing fleet of Tupolev Tu-134 and Tupolev Tu-154 airplanes.
On 18 May 2001 Belavia commenced a Minsk-Paris scheduled service with Tu154s and Tu134s. In 2003 Belavia started publishing an in-flight magazine Horizons in English, Russian and Belarusian (partially). On 16 October 2003 Belavia signed a leasing agreement for its first Boeing 737-500 aircraft. In 2004 Belavia further extended operations and acquired one more Boeing 737. On 26 June 2004 Belavia opened a new route to Hanover, Germany. 2008 will see the airline reopen its route between Minsk and Shannon airport in Ireland.
Three leased Bombardier CRJ 100 aircraft were introduced on regional services from Minsk. The first one was delivered in February 2007, with the other two later in 2007. They directly replaced the aging Antonov An-24 and Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft.[3].
Incidents and accidents
One of its most serious accidents to date was a shattered windshield on a Yakovlev Yak-40 upon landing in Prague. The cockpit glazing of the Yak-40 burst on 6 January 2003 just after the aircraft entered Czech airspace; two Czech Air Force fighters accompanied the plane to a safe landing in Ruzyně International Airport.[4]
On 14 February 2008, Belavia Flight 1834, a Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-100ER en route from Yerevan, Armenia, to Minsk hit its left wing on the runway during takeoff from Zvartnots International Airport, subsequently crashing on the ground, flipping over and coming to a stop inverted near the runway. All 18 passengers and 3 crew members managed to escape the aircraft before it erupted into flames, partly due to the timely response of the fire and rescue crew. Speculation pointed to icing contamination leading to a stall of the left wing, though the cause is still under investigation.
Destinations
Belavia serves the following destinations as of November 2009: [5]
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Israel
- Italy
- Latvia
- Riga - Riga International Airport [begins 19 January]
- Lebanon
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Russia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
Belavia has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[6]
Fleet
As of 21 November 2009, the Belavia fleet consists of the following aircraft:[7] [8]
| Aircraft | Number | Passengers | Routes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 3 | 148 | |||
| Boeing 737-500 | 5 | 104-120 | |||
| Boeing BBJ2 | 1 | operated for the government of Belarus | |||
| Bombardier CRJ 200LR | 3 | 50 | |||
| Tupolev Tu-154M | 5 | 131-164 | dedicated services 1 aircraft operated for the government of Belarus |
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| Total | 17 |
As of 11 November 2009, the average age of western-built Belavia fleet was 11.5 years.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Belavia website: Contacts. Retrieved on 10 October 2009.
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: pp. 84–85. 2007-03-27.
- ^ Airliner World, February 2007
- ^ Pravda Canopy of Belarussian Yak-40 burst in air. Published 6 January 2003.
- ^ Belavia timetable. Retrieved 2009-11-2.
- ^ Belavia timetable. Retrieved 2009-11-2.
- ^ Belavia fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ Official Belavia fleet. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
External links
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