Nordwind Airlines

Nordwind Airlines, LLC (ООО «Северный ветер») is a Russian leisure airline. The company is headquartered in Moscow, and its hub is at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Nordwind Airlines primarily operates service between airports in Russia and holiday destinations around Europe and Asia.

History
Nordwind Airlines was founded in August 2008 by the Russian and Turkish branches of tour operator Pegas Touristik and initially operated three Boeing 757-200s.

The number of passengers transported was as follows:

On April 29, 2013, two surface-to-air missiles were fired by unknown forces in Syria at a Nordwind Airlines jet flying from Sharm El Sheikh to Kazan. The pilots took evasive action and the plane continued onto Kazan undamaged.

In 2017, the airline acquired two used A330s.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nordwind transported approximately 7.4 tons of gold with a market value over $300 million from Venezuela to a refinery near the airport in Entebbe, Uganda. These March 2019 shipments allegedly expose a global underground economy the United States government suspects helps Nicolás Maduro stay in power in Venezuela.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Nordwind suspended all international flights. A number of leased aircraft, located abroad when the invasion took place have been returned to the lessors. The US Commerce Department, who had previously sanctioned US manufactured aircraft, extended sanctions to the European manufactured Airbus aircraft in Nordwind's fleet in August 2022. Sanctions have also banned Nordwind receiving spare parts for their planes.

Destinations
In 2021 Nordwind serves 98 destinations in 28 countries including nine countries and 23 cities in Europe, eight countries and 12 cities in the Middle East and Africa, four countries and four cities in South America, and six countries and 14 cities in Asia.



Fleet
As of January 2024, Nordwind Airlines fleet comprises the following aircraft:

In 2022 Air Lease Corporation are seeking to recover two A321neo and four Boeing 737-800s, as the lease payments are not being made.

The fleet previously included the following aircraft:
 * Airbus A320-200
 * Boeing 757-200
 * Boeing 767-300ER