OREANDA-NEWS. Meeting with UTair Aviation representatives serving the UN Mission in Sudan Brigadier General Iyoma Nvokondo Iyoma, commanding the southern sector of the African Union/United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) expressed his gratitude to the entire airline staff and presented UTair representatives with a special award, the Scroll of Honor.

UTair has provided air transport services for the UN Mission peacekeeping mission in the Darfur conflict zone for over seven years. Nine Mi-8 helicopters as well as Boeing 737-500 aircraft based in Khartoum are currently operating in Darfur transporting peacekeeping units.

The UTair Group has more than 90 employees involved in servicing the UN mission in Darfur, including professionals from UTair-Engineering and TS-Tech.

UTair Helicopters perform a wide range of operations from search and rescue missions to sanitary tasks, including nighttime operations. Three helicopters are on duty around the clock, providing on demand air transport for mission tasks. UTair-Engineering professionals carry out aircraft MRO in Sudan on certified external line stations.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Darfur conflict zone is one of the largest and most important on the African continent.

UTair has been cooperating with the United Nations since 1991 and since 2001 has been the UN's largest provider of air transport services. In 2013 UTair Group subsidiaries UTair (formerly UTair-Cargo) and UTair South Africa underwent UN audit and have qualified as service providers with rights to participate in tenders for transport operations organized by the United Nations.

UTair crews have repeatedly won recognition and awards for valor and professionalism for their roles in peacekeeping missions in Africa. In 2012 UTair crew of a Mi-8 helicopter under the command of Sergei Ignatov was honored with the Sikorsky Humanitarian Service Award at Salute to Excellence Awards for rescuing 23 people, including several seriously injured, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

UTair Aviation is the core enterprise of UTair Group consisting of companies performing aircraft operations with fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft as well as enterprises offering MRO, personnel training, flight services and air transportation sales services. The Group includes UTair-Express, UTair-Ukraine, UTair CJSC, UTair-Helicopter services , Turuhan Airlines, Vostok Airlines, Helisur, UTair Europe, UTair South Africa, and UTair India as well as UTair-Technik, UTair-Engineering, Ural aviation services, UTG, UTair-Armenia and other enterprises. UTair Group headquarters are located in Surgut, Tyumen, Khanty-Mansisk, Moscow and other places in Russia and abroad.