Volga-Dnepr adds 4th new IL-76 freighter

IL-76TD-90VD

   Russian all-cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines has added a fourth modernized IL-76TD-90VD freighter to its fleet. 
   The plane completed its first commercial flight on Dec. 31 from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport to Bahrain before returning to Moscow.
   The IL-76TD-90VD freighter was built to order at the Tashkent Chkalov Aviation factory under contract between UAC – Transport Aircraft and Volga-Dnepr-Leasing. 
   “The aircraft performs to an extremely high standard for airfreight transportation and is in high demand by our customers,” said Dennis Gliznoutsa, Volga-Dnepr’s vice president for sales. “The entry of the fourth IL-76TD-90VD into service facilitates our plans to gain a larger share of the cargo market for shipments in the up to 50 tons category of the international market.”
   The carrier plans to take delivery of its fifth IL-76TD-90VD in May.
   Volga-Dnepr initiated its IL-76 modernization program in 2002. The first IL-76TD-90VD entered commercial service with Volga-Dnepr Airlines in the summer of 2006. The new version of the freighter meets all the current requirements of foreign aviation authorities and is approved to fly worldwide without restriction, the carrier said.