Russian freight carrier Atran resumes flights with a Boeing 737-400

Atran is flying again. The Russian cargo carrier has put a Boeing 737-400 freighter back into service after a break of roughly four years. Atran, formerly a Volga-Dnepr subsidiary, stopped flying in 2022 when Western sanctions followed the start of the war in Ukraine. Its fleet then numbered nine Boeing 737s.

This is the carrier's second attempt at a comeback. The first began in September 2023 with an Antonov An-12 and ended about a year later. EAS Group, headed by former Red Wings chief Yevgeni Solodilin, bought Atran in autumn 2025, and the airline said it would try again that same year. Those plans slipped for months.

The aircraft with registration RA-73854, a 29-year-old jet, made a two-hour test flight on 28 August 2026, followed by a second on 15 September, according to the account. Atran's air operator certificate took effect again on 22 September. The first scheduled service flew on 16 October from Moscow via Novosibirsk to Mirny, and in the days after the aircraft also served Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

For now the airline intends to use the aircraft in Russia's Far East. According to the Aviatorshina channel, it plans a fleet of two 737-400 SFs and expects to report profits from 2027. Atran will not get back the six larger 737-800 BCFs it once operated; after an insurance settlement with lessor AerCap, those aircraft went to Rossiya and Pobeda, which use them as spare parts sources.