The airline will also reduce its international charter flights by 50% during June 2018.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) will consider the application of Saratov Airlines to remove restrictions on its air operator certificate (AOC) by 27 May 2018.
The resumption announcement comes less than one day after Saratov Airlines announced it would suspend operations on 31 May 2018 after receiving a notice from FATA directing the airline to suspend ticket sales.
Russia’s air carrier Saratov Airlines to suspend operation on May 31 following Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) notification.
The carrier was asked to stop selling tickets to prevent violations of passenger rights and the development of the crisis situation.
On May 17, 2018 Saratov Airlines received a letter from Head of Transport Regulation Department of the Federal Air Transport Agency Andrey Kruglov on suspension of air ticket sales starting May 30 of this year.
The airline views the document as restriction of its air operator certificate starting May 31.
In this regard, the management of Saratov Airlines has made a decision on suspension of operations starting May 31, 2018, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The airline undertakes to return all passengers to Russia by 30 May. Since 18 July, the carrier has also had to sue the company’s employees.
This is about 1.2 thousand professionals who will be on the street, explained in Saratov Airlines.
At the same time, the company closed the booking and issuing of tickets as part of agreements with tour operators.
Saratov Airlines will return passengers money for tickets already purchased in the event of the final closure of the airline, the press service added.
An An-148 aircraft of the Saratov Airlines crashed en route from Moscow to Orsk crashed in February at Moscow Region after takeoff from Domodedovo killing all 71 passengers and crew on board.
Federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia, which had already put Saratov on a temporary licence, has instructed the airline not to book and issue tickets on its own or on behalf of tour operators for flights after 30 May.
The airline states that, in response, its management has opted to close the company from the end of May and dismiss employees from 18 July.
Saratov says that, as a result of the decision, some 1,200 qualified specialists will be on the street.
Rosaviatsia has also told the carrier to ensure that passengers are repatriated, and that no more are transported abroad if their return is scheduled after the 30 May deadline.
Saratov acknowledges the communication about the suspension of ticket sales, and views it as a prelude to introducing additional limitations on its operations.
Rosaviatsia had limited the validity of its air operator's certificate, initially to 27 April and then to 30 May, as a warning to the airline to address shortcomings in its operations.
The restrictions followed inspections of the carrier conducted in the aftermath of the 11 February crash outside Moscow Domodedovo.
Saratov has also been trying to deal with a loss of capacity from the grounding of its An-148 fleet.
It insists it has taken all measures to correct the issues uncovered by the inspections, and says that Rosaviatsia's decision has condemned to death one of the oldest airlines in Russia.
Saratov claims an uninterrupted history dating back 86 years, the carrier having emerged from an agricultural service.
It had been using Embraer E-Jets alongside its An-148s and had recently introduced an Embraer 190 featuring a different carrier identity, with the name 'Ivolga Airlines' on its fuselage.
Saratov Airlines is a Russian airline headquartered in Saratov and based at Saratov Tsentralny Airport.
On 20 March 2018, the Russian Ministry of Transport ordered the suspension of all Saratov Airline flights following the investigation into the Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crash.
The airline responded with a message on its website stating that it continues to carry out flights on Embraer-190 and Yak-42 aircraft.
Later in the day it emerged that the Ministry of Transport had shortened the period of validty of the airline's operating certificate to 27 April 2018; if by this date violations are not addressed the permit will not be extended.
On 2 April the Russian aviation authority called on the airline to voluntarily cease operating due to its management’s unprecedented and irresponsible attitude towards ensuring the safety of passengers and crew.
One of the reasons for this reaction was the airline’s submission of a list of current planes and crew which included the aircraft that crashed and crew members who died in February.
On 17 May 2018, the Russian aviation authority ordered the airline to stop selling tickets by the end of May. The company was to permanently cease operations on 31 May.
Saratov Airlines was founded in 1931. It was called Saratov United Air Squad and was a part of Aeroflot.Until late 2013 the airline was bcaalled Saravia.
In December 2013, Saratov Airlines became the first Russian operator of Embraer E-Jets, with the arrival of two Embraer 195 aircraft.
On 14 October 2015, the Russian aviation authorities sanctioned Saratov Airlines after a violation of security rules.
The airline was therefore no longer allowed to operate flights to destinations outside of Russia from 26 October 2015. However, by May 2016 the airline had resumed international charter services.
In July 2017, it was announced that the airline had signed a letter of intent to lease six Irkut MC-21-300s at the MAKS Air Show in Moscow scheduled to be delivered from 2022–2025.
On 10 April 2018, it was announced, that Saratov Airlines would re-brand itself as Ivolga Airlines.
The evidence was from the new Embraer aircraft, that plans to commence flights in April. The reasons for this action are various.
Aviation experts say this is due to the air crash that occurred in February, by taking the idea from S7 Airlines and Nordavia, that re-branded after air crashes in 2006 and 2009.
Other experts say that it is because the airline now flies from hubs other than Saratov, such as Moscow-Domodedovo and Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo.
Saratov Airlines operates the following domestic scheduled and international charter passenger flights:
Armenia, Yerevan – Zvartnots International Airport
Georgia, Tbilsi – Tbilisi International Airport
Russia, Blagoveshensk – Ignatyevo Airport
Chita – Kadala Airport
Irkutsk – International Airport Irkutsk
Kirov – Pobedilovo Airport
Krasnodar – Pashkovsky Airport
Krasnoyarsk – Yemelyanovo International Airport base
Mineralnye Vody – Mineralnye Vody Airport
Moscow – Domodedovo International Airport
Nizhnevartovsk – Nizhnevartovsk Airport
Nizhny Novgorod – Strigino Airport
Orsk – Orsk Airport
Saint Petersburg – Pulkovo Airport
Saransk - Saransk Airport, begining 5 June 2018
Saratov – Saratov Tsentralny Airport base
Simferopol - Simferopol International Airport
Surgut – Surgut International Airport seasonal charter
Ufa – Ufa International Airport
Ulan-Ude – Baikal International Airport
Vladivostok – Vladivostok International Airport
Volgograd – Gumrak Airport
Yekaterinburg – Koltsovo Airport
Saratov Airlines Fleet
- Antonov An-148-100 - 1
- Embraer ERJ-195 - 2
- Yakovlev Yak-42 - 5
- Total - 8
Saratov Airlines Orders
- Boeing 737-800 - 1
- Embraer ERJ-195 - 2
- Total - 8
On 11 February 2018, Saratov Airlines flight 703, disappeared from radar and crashed less than ten minutes after takeoff.
The flight, operated using an An-148 and scheduled to depart from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport to the Russian city of Orsk, had 71 people on board; 65 passengers and six crew members.
The crash occurred near the village of Stepanovskoye about 50 miles southeast of Moscow.
No one on board survived the plane crash.
Tourism Observer
