For the defunct airline, see Aurora Airlines.
Aurora (airline)
AirlineAurora
IataHZ
IcaoSHU
CallsignAURORA
FoundedNovember 2013
Commenced8 December 2013
Bases
Hubs
Destinations32[1]
ParentSakhalin Region Development Corporation
HeadquartersYuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia
Key people
  • Konstantin Sukhorebrik (CEO)
Websiteflyaurora.ru/en

Aurora (Russian: Аврора) is a Russian airline headquartered in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Oblast.[2] It operates domestic flights in the Russian Far East region and international flights to and from destinations in China. It is named after the Russian cruiser Aurora.[3][4] As of June 2025, the airline is banned from flying into the EU like all other Russian airlines.[5]

History

Aurora was created by government order of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in September 2013.[4][6][7] Originally called Taiga, it combined Vladivostok Air and SAT Airlines.[6][7] SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Air served 42 and 15 destinations respectively, and had a combined fleet of 24 fixed-wing aircraft, along with 11 helicopters.[4]

Aurora began operations on 8 December 2013 serving the Khabarovsk – Krasnoyarsk-Yemelyanovo route.[8][9][10][11] The carrier's first aircraft was an Airbus A319-100, with a new aircraft livery.[12] In December 2015, the airline received the first of three Bombardier Q400 aircraft it had on order.[13]

Aurora was 51%-owned by Aeroflot, with the regional government of Sakhalin Oblast holding the balance.[4][14] An initial investment of RUB 430 million was provided by Aeroflot through a loan.[15] In December 2020, Aeroflot sold its 51% stake in Aurora to Sakhalin Region Development Corporation for ₽1.[16][17] In 2022, Aurora was merged with five Russian regional airlines, Khabarovsk Airlines, Chukotavia, Kamchatka Air Enterprise, Yakutia Airlines, and Polar Airlines, to create a single far-eastern airline for Russia.[18]

Key people

As of October 2016, Konstantin Sukhorebrik was the CEO.[19]

Destinations

The airline serves[when?] two countries on 41 routes.[1][20]

As of April 2024, Aurora flies internationally from its three bases located in Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Vladivostok. The international network includes Beijing-Daxing,[21] Harbin[22] and Shanghai-Pudong[23] airports in China.

CountryCityAirportStatus
RussiaBlagoveshchenskIgnatyevo Airport[24]
KhabarovskKhabarovsk Novy Airport
KurilskKurilsk Airport[24]
NoglikiNogliki Airport[24]
ShakhtyorskShakhtyorsk Airport[24]
TyndaTynda Airport[24]
Yuzhno-SakhalinskYuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport
VladivostokVladivostok International Airport
ZeyaZeya Airport[24]
ChinaBeijingBeijing Daxing International Airport
HarbinHarbin Taiping International Airport
ShanghaiShanghai Pudong International Airport[25]

Codeshare agreements

Aurora has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Aurora operates the following aircraft:[30]

Aurora fleet
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
Airbus A319-1008—128
Bombardier Dash 8-2002—37Used on charter flights.
Bombardier Dash 8-3001—50
Bombardier Dash 8-4005—70
de Havilland Canada DHC-6-4003—19
Ilyushin Il-114—19[citation needed]TBA
Yakovlev SJ-100-95—887To be delivered in 2026.[citation needed]
Yakovlev MC-21-310—10[31]TBATo be delivered from late 2027 to 2030.[31]
Total1937

Former fleet

Aurora previously operated the following aircraft:[32]

References

  1. ^ "Aurora on ch-aviation". ch-aviation
  2. ^ "Aurora". CAPA
  3. ^ Montag-Girmes, Polina (11 November 2015). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airlines wins IOSA approval". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 14 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ "New Aurora Airline Set to Serve Far East". The Moscow Times. 6 November 2013. Archived 11 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "The EU Air Safety List". European Commission. 3 June 2025. Archived 25 June 2025 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Borodina, Polina (13 June 2013). "Aeroflot to launch Far East subsidiary in 3Q". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 30 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ Borodina, Polina (10 September 2013). "Russia's Aeroflot creates Far East subsidiary Taiga Airline". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ "Aurora Begins Khabarovsk – [sic] Service from Dec 2013". Airline Route. 17 December 2013. Archived 17 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Baklitskaya, Kate (7 November 2013). "New airline offers the world a route to some of Russia's remotest and most exotic destinations". The Siberian Times. Archived 14 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "Russian airline brand Aurora turns to Landor Associates for brand strategy and identity". The Drum. 25 November 2013. Archived 21 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ "Aeroflot Presented New Subsidiary – United Far Eastern Airline "Aurora"". Aeroflot. 6 November 2013. Archived 6 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ Borodina, Polina (6 November 2013). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline set to launch operations". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 7 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Montag-Girmes, Polina (4 May 2016). "Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline 1Q traffic up 22%". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 6 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ Montag-Girmes, Polina (9 June 2015). "Russia's Aurora Airline to double passengers, fleet in 2018". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 13 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ Borodina, Polina (25 October 2013). "Aeroflot provides a $13.5 million loan for Far East subsidiary". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 30 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David (17 December 2020). "Aeroflot Group to divest eastern carrier Aurora". FlightGlobal
  17. ^ "Aeroflot Sells Subsidiary To Boost Russian Far East Air Transport". Aviation Week & Space Technology. December 23, 2020.
  18. ^ VENCKUNAS, VALIUS (21 October 2022). "Three more Russian airlines to join massive far-East merger". Aerotime
  19. ^ Montag-Girmes, Polina (17 October 2016). "Aurora Airline predicts traffic will increase 20% in 2016". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Archived 23 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ^ "Aurora Flights and Destinations - FlightConnections". www.flightconnections.com
  21. ^ "Aurora Adds Seasonal Sakhalinsk – Beijing Service in NS24". AeroRoutes. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Авиакомпания "Аврора" увеличивает количество рейсов из Южно-Сахалинска в Харбин". www.flyaurora.ru. Aurora Airlines. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  23. ^ Строева, Вероника (12 November 2025). "Хабаровск - Шанхай: авиакомпания “Аврора” запустит новые рейсы" (in ru-RU). Дальневосточное обозрение. Amur Media. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  24. ^ "Авиакомпания «Аврора» продолжает полеты по социально значимым рейсам до конца летнего расписания 2026 года из Хабаровска в Зею, Тынду, Ноглики, Шахтерск и из Владивостока в Курильск". flyaurora.ru. Aurora Airlines. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  25. ^ "Aurora Airlines to launch regular flights between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Shanghai on July 2". Interfax. Interfax Information Group. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  26. ^ "Авиакомпания "Аврора" объявила о запуске регулярных рейсов по маршруту Якутск — Улан-Удэ". NewsYkt. 7 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Korean Air / Aurora begins codeshare partnership from July 2018". Routesonline. July 12, 2018. Archived July 12, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  28. ^ Liu, Jim (29 September 2016). "Aurora / S7 Airlines expands codeshare network in W16". Routesonline. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  29. ^ Liu, Jim (18 January 2018). "Aurora adds Vladivostok – Beijing route from Jan 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  30. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Aurora". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 71.
  31. ^ "Aurora Airlines expects to receive ten MS-21 aircraft by 2030". Aviation21.ru. 9 September 2023.
  32. ^ "Russia's Aurora ends B737 operations". ch-aviation. 15 June 2016. Archived 6 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine.