Naryan-Mar Aviation

Naryan-Mar Aviation (official name: АО «Нарьян-Марский объединённый авиаотряд», or Naryan-Mar United Aviation Detachment) is a Russian regional airline and airport operator based in Naryan-Mar, the administrative center of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. It is the only airline serving the okrug and also operates Naryan-Mar Airport. The company performs passenger, mail, and cargo flights within the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and provides aviation services to enterprises engaged in mineral exploration, mining, and agricultural development in the region. All services are carried out with its own fleet of An-2 aircraft and Mi-8 and Mi-8MTV helicopters. The airline also provides technical operation of its own fleet and line maintenance for aircraft of other airlines departing from Naryan-Mar Airport. Additionally, it offers medical services to the okrug's population and operates a café-canteen within the airport terminal for staff and passengers. The route network includes regular flights on local air lines to 16 designated airports in settlements across the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, with a total route length of 4,870 km. The average population of these settlements is around 1,000 people. When river navigation on the Pechora River opens, the company suspends flights to 5 local airports. In 11 airports, scheduled flights operate year-round due to the absence of other transport modes. As of February 2022, the fleet consisted of 6 aircraft and 16 helicopters. The history of civil aviation in the Nenets Okrug dates back to 1933, when the first polar airline connected Arkhangelsk with Naryan-Mar. The airline's official website provides schedule information, ticket purchasing, baggage rules, and airport services. The company operates as an open joint-stock company (АО) and remains a vital lifeline for remote communities in the Russian Arctic.

The history of civil aviation in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug began in 1925, when the first aircraft appeared in the skies over the region. Pilots B. G. Chukhnovsky and O. A. Kalvitsa made a long Arctic flight along the route Leningrad–Petrozavodsk–Arkhangelsk–Novaya Zemlya using two Ju-20 aircraft. One of the aircraft conducted short-range reconnaissance from Matochkin Shar Strait eastward for 50 km at an altitude of 1,000 meters. One of the expedition's goals was to assist ships traveling along the Northern Sea Route; aerial reconnaissance helped sailors choose a shorter route and save time. On February 13, 1933, the first polar airline was opened, connecting Arkhangelsk with Naryan-Mar. The aircraft L-507, piloted by L. K. Fitelberg with flight mechanic M. Alekseev, covered the distance in 6.5 hours. The beginning of civil aviation development in the Nenets Okrug can be considered 1933, when pilot Mikhail Pavlovich Pravilov was sent to the village of Beloshchelye with the task of ensuring aircraft reception and creating an airfield. Under his leadership, a flat area was selected on the ice of the Pechora River and a simple oil heater was equipped for refueling aircraft. After this, in January 1933, the first flights on Stal-2 aircraft began in Naryan-Mar. The first pilots to arrive in Naryan-Mar were Vershinsky, Golubev, Gorelov, and Smirnov. At that time, aircraft were used to deliver mail and transport furs and fish to Arkhangelsk. The flight to Arkhangelsk lasted about 8 hours. Aircraft landed in various places: in winter on the ice of the Pechora River near the sawmill, in Karmanovskaya Kurya and on Kazyonnoye Lake, and in summer on pastures near the villages of Kuya and Nikittsy. In 1935, the need to organize an air base in the Nenets Okrug was approved by the Sevkrayispolkom. The chairman of the Nenets Okrug Executive Committee, Ivan Pavlovich Vyucheysky, proved that the okrug could not manage without aviation for communication with remote areas, reindeer herding state farms, and fishing camps. In October 1935, the first aircraft of the executive committee's aviation was sent to Naryan-Mar. The U-2 biplane of the SP modification weighed 664 kg, with fuel weight of 109 kg, crew load of 80 kg, and cargo with passenger of no more than 160 kg. It was ferried to Naryan-Mar by Vitaly Vladimirovich Sushchinsky. A second U-2 aircraft was delivered by sea, and a young Leningrad pilot, Samuil Yakovlevich Klibanov, was appointed as its pilot. Technical maintenance of both aircraft was entrusted to aviation technician Pyotr Ivanovich Katushenok. In the first winter season, they introduced eight airlines with a total length of 2,470 km, connecting Naryan-Mar with all district centers, the sea coast, and the tundra. In 1936, construction began at the district aviation airfield for a hangar, residential building, and fuel warehouse. A specially equipped sanitary aircraft S-1 was received. Air routes operated: Naryan-Mar–Nizhnyaya Pyosha–Mezen–Arkhangelsk, Naryan-Mar–Varandey–Amderma, Nizhnyaya Pyosha–Indiga, Naryan-Mar–Khoseda-Khard, Naryan-Mar–Ust-Tsilma, Naryan-Mar–Tobseda, Naryan-Mar–Shapkinsky reindeer state farm. On March 30, 1936, Naryan-Mar welcomed the Arctic air expedition led by Vodopyanov and Makhotkin and saw off the expedition of Schmidt and Papanin, who were delayed in the Nenets Okrug waiting for flying weather. In October 1937, Naryan-Mar became the base for B. G. Chukhnovsky's aviation expedition, sent to the Arctic to search for Levanevsky. In December 1937, heavy four-engine G-2 aircraft began flying the Arkhangelsk–Naryan-Mar air route. In 1937–1938, Li-2 aircraft flights began. After the arrests of 1937–1938 of the okrug's leading cadres, the aviation of the Nenets Okrug Executive Committee ceased to exist. All aircraft and equipment were transferred to Arkhangelsk. In 1941, a special aviation group was created, tasked with observing the Northern Sea Route, controlling the entrance to the straits of Novaya Zemlya, and convoying cargo transports. The 16th air transport detachment of the 3rd aviation group, subordinate to the White Sea Military Flotilla, was stationed in Naryan-Mar. Aircraft were serviced and refueled here, and crews rested before new flights. In October 1941, under the leadership of P. V. Khatanzaysky and with the participation of the city's population, a runway 900 meters long was built 1,200 meters from the district House of Soviets. The first head of the airport under construction was Pyotr A. [name incomplete in source]. (Note: The provided source excerpt ends here; further history of the modern enterprise is not included in the evidence.)

• 2022

  Fleet consists of 6 aircraft and 16 helicopters as of February 2022.

• 1941

  16th air transport detachment stationed in Naryan-Mar; 900-meter runway built under P. V. Khatanzaysky.

• 1937

  Naryan-Mar becomes base for Chukhnovsky's Arctic expedition; heavy G-2 aircraft begin flying Arkhangelsk–Naryan-Mar route.

• 1936

  Construction of hangar, residential building, and fuel warehouse begins; sanitary aircraft S-1 received; Naryan-Mar hosts Arctic air expeditions.

• 1935

  Need for an air base approved; first executive committee aircraft (U-2) sent to Naryan-Mar; eight airlines introduced in first winter season.

• 1933

  First polar airline opens between Arkhangelsk and Naryan-Mar; first flights on Stal-2 aircraft begin in Naryan-Mar.

• 1925

  First aircraft appear in the skies over the Nenets Okrug; Chukhnovsky and Kalvitsa make a long Arctic flight.

Essential regional air carrier and airport operator for the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, providing lifeline connectivity to remote Arctic settlements.

• Scheduled passenger flights

  Regular flights on local air lines to 16 airports in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

• Cargo and mail transport

  Air transport of mail and cargo within the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

• Aviation services for enterprises

  Services for enterprises engaged in mineral exploration, mining, and agriculture.

• Aircraft maintenance

  Technical operation of own fleet and line maintenance for other airlines at Naryan-Mar Airport.

• Medical aviation services

  Provision of medical services to the population of the okrug.

• Airport café-canteen

  Public catering for staff and passengers within the airport terminal.

1. 1АО Нарьян-Марский объединенный авиаотряд — Official Websiteavianao.ru
2. 2Naryan-Mar Aviation — Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Нарьян-Марский объединённый авиаотряд — Wikipedia (Russian)ru.wikipedia.org