Sky Gates Airlines takes delivery of second Ilyushin IL-96-400T

:: Sky Gates

Russian freight carrier Sky Gates has taken delivery of its second Ilyushin IL-96-400T widebody cargo aircraft, parent company Red Wings revealed. The aircraft with tail number RA-96101 was produced in 1997 and was previously operated by Polet Airlines, which ceased operations in 2013. Since that time the aircraft had been grounded and stored.

This freight modification of IL-96 aircraft with stretched fuselage is capable of transporting up to 92 tons of cargo. Its range with maximum payload is 5,000 km, or it can carry 40 tons up to 11,500 km.

Sky Gates received its first IL-96-400T (15-year old RA-96103) in December 2023. Previously, AirBridgeCargo (part of Volga-Dnepr Group) aspired to integrate these aircraft into its fleet.

Rostech-owned Sky Gates is now the only commercial operator of stretched IL-96-400T. It also has one freight IL-76TD in its fleet.