OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2012. S7 Airlines has presented a Tu-154 aircraft, which had been operated by the company until 2008, to the Tolmachevo Museum of Aviation History. The grand opening of the aircraft monument was held at Novosibirsk Airport, reported the press-centre of S7 Airlines.

The decision to commemorate one of the most popular passenger jetliners in the history of Russian civil aviation was made by S7 Airlines and Tolmachevo Airport in a special year for the two enterprises:  the 20th anniversary of S7 Airlines, and the 55th anniversary of Tolmachevo.  In addition, February 2012 saw the 40th anniversary of the first regular passenger flight made on a TU-154.

A whole range of works have been carried out at Tolmachevo Airport, including restoration of the Tu-154, setting up of the monument site in the No. 2 checkpointarea, and landscaping of the adjacent territory. More than ten pieces of equipment and over fifty specialists were engaged in the preparation and installation of this exhibit. Now the aircraft will welcome and see off the passengers and guests of the airport.

"Tolmachevo Airport is the base of S7 Airlines, and for many years of cooperation the airport has proven to be a trustworthy and responsible partner.  We have a very close relationship – it was the Tolmachevo United Air Group that stood at the origin of civil aviation development in Novosibirsk. The Tu-154 is associated with thousands of pilots, flight attendants and engineering specialists of our company", Vyacheslav Novikov, S7 Airlines General Representative at Tolmachevo Airport, noted.

"This is the first exhibit of the Tolmachevo Museum of Aviation History that we are creating for our children, veterans, passengers and airport guests. We are also planning to place an IL-86 on display, which will house an exhibition located in the cockpit and a restored part of the passenger cabin, with photo and document stands and evidence of Tolmachevo’shistory and recent past", Evgeny Yankilevich, Director General of Tolmachevo Airport, said.