VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Ukraine's Motor-Sich Avia, part of engine manufacturer Motor-Sich, has taken delivery of an Antonov An-140 52-seat regional turboprop from Kharkov state aviation plant (KhGAPP). KhGAPP general director Pavel Naumenko says the Ukrainian market has an immediate requirement for 20 An-140s, and that the next aircraft will go to Crimea and Yuzhmashavia airlines. Deliveries to Russian carriers Alrosa, Buryatia, Polar Airlines and Ural Airlines are planned for 2004-5. Motor-Sich Avia director Valentine Shirochkin says the An-140 will start operations in mid-June from Zaporozhie to Kiev and Moscow, and then shift to long-range charters to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and UAE.