Komiaviatrans resumes Mi-2 operations

Komiaviatrans' Mi-2 // Photo by // Vladimir Karlov

Russian airline Komiaviatrans in late April put a Mil Mi-2 helicopter (board number RA-14063, built in the late 1980s) back into operation following repairs at Moscow DOSAAF aircraft repair plant. The helicopter has a cargo cabin and can also transport one patient on a stretcher.

Komiaviatrans was not operating its Mi-2 fleet for around a year, primarily due to a dramatic decline in demand for the type, first deputy general director Anatoly Samoilov told Show Observer. Customer interest recovered in 2015, as the depreciating national currency made operations of foreign rotary-wing types less competitive compared to previous-generation Soviet-made light helicopters.

In early May, Komiaviatrans’s only Mi-2 with a valid air worthiness certificate was operating out of Pechora (500 km to the north-east of Syktyvkar airport) in the interest of several private companies; it was also performing occasional flights for Yugyd Va National Park in the north Urals mountains. The operator hopes to secure new orders for the aircraft this year, including from the regional hospital and the regional forest fire center. If required, Komiaviatrans is prepared to restore some of its 30-plus mothballed Mi-2s to airworthiness condition.