Siberian regional carrier Angara Airlines is focused on the planned UZGA TVRS-44 turboprop for its fleet-renewal programme.

But the Irkutsk-based airline is also prepared to look at the modernised Ilyushin Il-114-300 as a candidate, according to director Ivan Katitsyn.

Angara Airlines has a fleet of 29 aircraft, comprising 11 Antonov An-24s, three An-26s, and 15 Mil Mi-8 helicopters.

“Considering the airline’s flight route map [and] the state of infrastructure at a number of airfields outside the [main east Russian cities], we are primarily looking at the high-wing TVRS-44 Ladoga,” Katitsyn says.

He spoke during a meeting with federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia’s chief, Dmitry Yadrov.

“We are also ready for dialogue on the Il-114-300,” says Katitsyn. Both aircraft types remain under development, although the Il-114-300 has progressed to certification flight testing.

Katitsyn adds that Angara is “counting on new helicopters”.

Yadrov stresses that air connectivity in the Siberian and eastern Russian area depends on regional carriers.

“We are extremely interested in the long-term development of such airlines,” he says, pointing out that citizens beyond the Ural mountains often have “no alternative” to air transport for rapid mobility.

Yadrov and Katitsyn also discussed issues including simplification of maintenance regulations, as well as flight safety – particularly following the 26 May incident at Kirensk involving the nose-gear collapse of an Angara An-26.