Tu-154 Russian Airliner Makes Last Flight, to be Replaced by MC-21

Russia’s Tu-154, the country’s most massive passenger jet, made its final flight on Wednesday, October 28.

A Tu-154, bearing tail number RA-85757, transported passengers from Yakut city of Mirny to Novosibirsk during its last flight. The outgoing famous predecessor is replaced by the MC-21, which has incorporated the most modern developments.

The history of the Tu-154 goes back more than half a century and begins in the distant 1963, when the Tupolev Design Bureau began preliminary work on a new generation medium-range aircraft, which was supposed to replace the Tu-104, An-10 and Il-18. The first flight of the Tu-154 took place five years later, in October of the 68th, and the first regular flight with passengers on board the Tu-154 took place on February 9, 1972 on the route Moscow - Mineralnye Vody. Two months later, the liner began to operate on international airlines. Tu-154s connected almost all major cities of our country, and also flew to more than 80 cities in Europe, Asia and Africa, were repeatedly presented at various international exhibitions and aviation shows. Since the beginning of operation, the Tu-154 fleet has flown more than 25 million flight hours.

The operation of the Tu-154 will not stop at all, a certain amount will remain with various state organizations, as part of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but airliners of this type will no longer appear on regular passenger flights.

Tu-154’s Successor, the MC-21

The new generation short- and medium-haul aircraft is being built at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant of the United Aircraft Corporation and combines advanced aerodynamics, a modern power plant and advanced control systems, as well as new solutions that increase passenger comfort. In particular, the MC-21 aircraft has the widest cabin in its class. The liner is designed to carry from 163 to 211 passengers and is aimed at the most capacious segment of the world market. For the first time, the aircraft with a passenger cabin was presented to the general public at the MAKS-2019 forum.