Russia is rich in oil and gas reserves. However, they are located in remote northern latitudes. Far from full-service flights and large airports, regional airlines are busy at work ferrying cargo and personnel for the oil, mining, timber and other industries.
Vankor oil field is located in the north of Krasnoyarsk Krai (Central Siberia). Though discovered well over two decades ago, oil production only began a couple of years ago. The inaccessibility of the area calls for aircraft to be used to ferrying oil workers, builders and other personnel.
Vankor, the settlement which sprouted beside the oil field, doesn’t have its own airfield. Due to this, supplies bound for it are first flown to Igarka Airport. From there to Vankor, passengers and cargo are transported by helicopter.
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Regional airline Katekavia performs passenger charter services from Krasnoyarsk to Igarka. The flights are made on outdated An-24 planes. The airline does its best to keep them in good condition, so the interior was clean and smelled fresh, and the upholstery was new. However, it’s still evident that the cabin is far from new, with yellowing plastic panels, permanent stains and loose screws in the small dining tables.
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https://www.airlines-inform.ru/license/
It was curious to see that meals were served in boxes featuring the logo of the Krasnoyarsk airline Continent, which went bankrupt a year ago.
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Flight time from Krasnoyarsk to Igarka is 3 hours. Then, we transferred to helicopters.
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A couple more hours and here we are, in Vankor.
https://www.airlines-inform.ru/license/
https://www.airlines-inform.ru/license/
https://www.airlines-inform.ru/license/
P.S. Sorry about the quality of the photos. They were taken with a cellphone camera and generously given to me for this review by someone else.
