OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2015. Olga Vychegzhanina became the millionth passenger served by Surgut Airport this year when she and her family checked in for their UTair Aviation flight to Krasnodar.

As in previous years, representatives of UTair and Surgut Airport greeted the millionth passenger in the check-in area with gifts and congratulations. Olga’s vacation got off to a great start with pleasant surprises: certificates granting access to Vnukovo business lounge and a free flight to any destination within UTair network.

“UTair and Surgut Airport are closely linked by many years of successful cooperation. Today we are glad to share this special moment with our colleagues,” said UTair – Passenger Airlines President Alexey Budnik. “It pleases us to see that the millionth Surgut Airport passenger this year happened to be flying UTair, as UTair has been the main airline of Surgut Airport for many years and currently generates the most of its passenger turnover. We congratulate our colleagues and wish them prosperity and success in their further development.”

“It’s very emblematic that this year Surgut has found its millionth passenger on a Surgut-Krasnodar flight, the airport's most popular southern route,” said Prime Deputy General Director of Surgut Airport Sergey Priyma. “The Krasnodar region and Crimean resorts have generated a significant increase in passenger turnover during the high season, mitigating the crisis in the aviation industry in general and more than 30% decrease in international flights from Surgut Airport in particular and allowing to keep the number of flights served by Surgut Airport at the 2014 level and even reach a 3.8% increase. The status of a million-plus airport for passenger throughput obliges us to maintain continuous improvement of passenger services.”

Surgut Airport is a UTair hub and the airline transports more than 70% of the airport’s passengers. During the Spring-Summer 2015 period the airline was engaged in an intense flight program, with regular flights from Surgut to 30 destinations in Russia and abroad, including cities of the Black Sea Coast, the North Caucasus and the Altai region. Additionally, in compliance with programs for socially important regional air routes, UTair performed regularly scheduled flights from Surgut to several destinations in Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets regions.

UTair Aviation is the core enterprise of UTair Group. In 2014 UTair Group fleet transported 11,204,598 passengers, achieving a 7% increase over the previous year. UTair flies to more than 150 destinations, including 70 unique destinations. UTair Group headquarters are located in Surgut. UTair maintains its main hub at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, where over 160 UTair flights are processed daily.