April 28 - Volga-Dnepr Airlines has transported over 190 tonnes in support of the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (DROMLAN) project in Antarctica
The project is run by the Antarctic Logistics Centre International (ALCI); Volga-Dnepr has completed 12 return flights from Cape Town to the Novolazarevskaya Antarctic Research Station using its IL-76TD-90VD freighter.
125 tonnes of general cargo has been delivered to the Antarctic airfield, while 64 tonnes of cargo was flown out of the continent. The shipments included a 34-tonne inland delivery from Novolazarevskaya Station to the central regions of Antarctica.
Georgy Sokolov, sales director of Volga-Dnepr UK, said: "The next series of flights will start in November because of the polar night environment and difficult weather conditions.
"We did a great deal of work before we could commence commercial deliveries, including pre-flight tests in Ulyanovsk, a series of 'ice runs' in Antarctica to check the performance and thrust reverser application procedures, and to obtain an addendum to the IL-76TD-90VD aircraft flight manual to enable it to operate to ice airfields and transport up to 90 people onboard."
