NordStar Airlines successfully passes IOSA audit

The carrier is now eligible to join IATA but has not yet voiced its intention to do so (Helmy oved / Wikimedia)

Russia’s NordStar Airlines has successfully undergone an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) confirming its compliance with more than 1,000 internationally approved aviation safety standards, the carrier reports.

NordStar’s IOSA certificate is valid through August 2018. Annual audit is required to renew the approval.

Successful completion of the safety checks makes the airline eligible for joining IATA. However, in its official statement NordStar gave no notion of its intention to do so.

Eleven Russian airlines are currently members of the international association. These are Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya Airlines, Nordavia, Nordwind Airlines, Pegas Fly, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, UTair Aviation, Vim Airlines, and also two cargo carriers: Volga-Dnepr and its subsidiary AirBridgeCargo.

NordStar Airlines, part of the Russian mining and smelting corporation MMC Norilsk Nickel, is Russia’s 15th carrier by passenger traffic. Between January and July 2017 it carried 783,800 passengers, up 9.9% on the same period last year. Its seat load factor increased 5 percentage points to 77.5%. The airline sees its primary mission in providing air services between Krasnoyarsk Region in Siberia and major cities elsewhere in Russia.

The airline operates a fleet of five ATR 42-500 regional turboprops, a Boeing 737-300, and nine 737-800s.