While awaiting serial deliveries of the Il-114-300, the leadership of Yakutia initiated negotiations with Chinese airlines for the purchase of Y-7 aircraft to ensure regional transportation. Petr Popov, the republic's Minister of Economy, announced readiness to consider alternative options. Against this backdrop, Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov sharply criticized the situation with the Il-114-300.
According to Smirnov, the Russian turboprop remains a necessary and promising aircraft for northern routes, but its appearance has been too long delayed. The expert noted that carriers need new aircraft now, otherwise the industry will face a serious shortage of equipment.
We are talking about buying our own aircraft, which have been modernized and named in Chinese. We no longer make such aircraft ourselves, but in China, they produce and export them. Buyers from all over the world are queuing for the Chinese version of the An-2. And the An-24 is also in demand.
Chinese turboprop aircraft, based on the Soviet An-24 model, are adapted for operation in difficult conditions, although they are inferior in some parameters to the latest Russian developments.
For many regions of Yakutia, aviation remains the only year-round mode of communication. A significant part of the current aircraft fleet is already reaching the end of its service life, so the regional authorities have begun to look for temporary solutions, including negotiations with the Chinese side for the supply of Y-7.
The republic expects that this option will help maintain stable transportation within the region until the delivery of Russian Il-114-300s begins.