Nordwind Airlines

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.^[6]

The number of passengers transported was as follows:^[7]

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.^[9]

In 2017, the airline acquired two used Airbus A330s.^[10]

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.^[11]

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nordwind suspended all international flights.^[12] A number of leased aircraft, located abroad when the invasion took place have been returned to the lessors.^[13] 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.^{[citation needed]} Sanctions have also banned Nordwind receiving spare parts for their planes.^[14]

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.

As of August 2025^[update], Nordwind Airlines operates the following aircraft:^[53]

In 2022, Air Lease Corporation were seeking to recover two A321neo and four Boeing 737-800s, as the lease payments were not being made.^{[citation needed]}

The fleet previously included the following aircraft:

• Airbus A320-200^{[citation needed]}
• Boeing 757-200^{[citation needed]}
• Boeing 767-300ER^{[citation needed]}