Russian Aircraft Relics of Germany

Up until 1990 Germany was split into two nations. The capitalist west and the communist east. Sanctions placed upon the Soviet Union and satellite nations by the West, prevented East Germany from purchasing western aircraft. This meant that Russian aircraft were predominantly operated during the communist reign. 

Interflug was the national airline of East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic. It was founded in 1955 as Deutsche Lufthansa and soon started flights to most European socialist capitals. In 1963 Deutsche Lufthansa was absorbed into Interflug and by the end was operating a large airliner fleet consisting of Ilyushin 18s, Ilyushin 62s, and Tupolev 134s. They also operated various other aircraft for agricultural, industrial and survey work as well as a flying school.

The East German airline had to endure significant problems during the 1970s and 80s. An energy crisis and rising fuel prices caused the airline to cease its domestic network, with the last domestic route flown in 1980. Its ageing fleet of Russian aircraft became expensive to operate. They used a lot more fuel than western jets and their engines didn’t meet new noise regulations in the west. This saw them paying increased landing fees or being banned from certain airports.

Once commercial airliners were made exempt from the trade embargo in 1988, Interflug quickly ordered three Airbus 310s…