Berkut State Air Company, commonly known as Berkut Air, is an airline based in Almaty

Almaty

Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...

, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, operating VIP charter flights out of Almaty International Airport

Almaty International Airport

Almaty International Airport is the largest international airport in Kazakhstan. It is located about from the centre of Almaty, the country's largest city and commercial capital. Almaty airport accounts for half of passenger traffic and 68% of cargo traffic to Kazakhstan...

.

History

Berkut Air was founded in 1999. Along with all other commercial Kazakh airlines with the exception of Air Astana

Air Astana

Air Astana is the flag carrier and the national airline of Kazakhstan with its head office in Almaty. It is the national carrier of Kazakhstan and operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport...

, it was banned from entering EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 airspace in April 2009, due to the poor maintenance standards in the country. As a consequence, Berkut Air was re-registered as a non-commercial airline, allowing the ban to be lifted again.

Fleet

As of 12 March 2011, the Berkut Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:

• 1 Airbus A320-214 Prestige (operated for the Government of Kazakhstan)
• 1 Antonov An-12
  Antonov An-12
  The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10.-Design and development:...
  
  
• 1 Antonov An-148
  Antonov An-148
  The Antonov An-148 Antonov Design Bureau from Kiev, Ukraine, is a regional jet aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov Design Bureau and produced by Ukraine's Kiev Aviation Plant AVIANT and Russia's Voronezh Aircraft Production Association. Development of the plane was started in the 1990s,...
  
   (on order)
• 1 Boeing 757-200ER (operated for the Government of Kazakhstan
  Government of Kazakhstan
  The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan oversees a presidential republic. The President of Kazakhstan, currently Nursultan Nazarbayev, is head of state and nominates the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government...
  
  )
• 1 Boeing 767-200ER (operated for the Government of Kazakhstan)
• 1 Bombardier Challenger 601
  Bombardier Challenger 600
  The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets designed by Bill Lear and produced first by Canadair until that company was bought by Bombardier Aerospace in 1986.-Development:...
  
  
• 1 Ilyushin Il-76TD
  Ilyushin Il-76
  The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas...
  
  
• 4 Let L-410 UVP
  L-410
  The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engined short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer LET, mostly used for passenger transport. Since 1969 more than 1100 airframes have been produced.-Development:...
  
  
• 1 Tupolev Tu-154B
  Tupolev Tu-154
  The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...
  
  
• 3 Yakovlev Yak-40
  Yakovlev Yak-40
  The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...
  
  
• 1 Yakovlev Yak-40K
  Yakovlev Yak-40
  The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...