The holiday we want to tell you about is a kind of confusion about the dates. What date is Aeroflot Day celebrated? Is it somehow connected with civil aviation? How is it different from the Air Fleet Day of the Russian Federation, or is it the same thing? Let's figure it all out.
When is the holiday celebrated?
Aeroflot Day has no celebration date. By tradition, it is celebrated on the second February Sunday. In 2017, for example, it was February 12, and in 2018 it will be the 11th.
The holiday also has a second name - Civil Aviation Day. Although it is not a red mark on the calendar, it is difficult to overestimate its significance, because the modern world, the modern state is difficult to imagine without civilian aircraft.
Whose day is it?
Who is congratulated on Aeroflot Day? The whole team of people who provide both opportunity, safety and comfort of air travel:
- Flight crew.
- Aircraft design, testing bureaus.
- Team of stewardesses.
- Dispatch departments.
- Technical teams.
- Attendants, etc.
In addition to the fact that warm greetings are sent on this day to those who have linked their lives with aviation, the following traditionally happens:
- Awarding the best employees.
- Honoring those who once again proved their professionalism in the most emergency situations.
- Initiation of beginners.
- Presentation of souvenirs to veterans of the aviation sector.
history of the holiday
The fact that it is not unambiguous for everyone when Aeroflot Day is commemorated is connected with the Soviet history of the holiday:
- From 1923 to 1979, the celebration of this significant date traditionally fell on February 9th. It was on this day in 1923 that the Civil Aviation Council was created.
- In 1979, it was decided to celebrate Aeroflot Day on the second Sunday of February.
- In 1988, a new decree was issued: the Aeroflot holiday was combined with another significant date - the Day of the Soviet Air Fleet. Therefore, the celebration moved to August 19. But again not for long.
- In the late 90s, already at the time of the modern Russian Federation, it was decided to celebrate Russian Aeroflot Day historically - on the second February Sunday. This has been going on for over a dozen years, right up to the present.
History of domestic aeroflot
Speaking about Aeroflot Day, it would not be out of place to make a brief introductory excursion into the history of Russian civil aviation, which is already more than 100 years old.
The first Russian aircraft designers began their activities at the very beginning of the 20th century. These are such outstanding people as J. Gakkel, I. Steglau, S. Sikorsky. The development and creation of the first Russian aircraft, we owe it to them.
1918 - the creation of the College of the Air Fleet. At that difficult time, she did not back down from her main task: to create a solid theoretical foundation for the domestic aircraft industry, and to begin production of her own aircraft. In the same year, the Moscow Central Aerodynamic Institute was founded, which took only a few years to become the flagship of Soviet aircraft engineering. In parallel with this, design bureaus and universities are beginning to appear across the country, preparing future high-class aircraft engineers.
On February 23, 1932, the Soviet Aeroflot was officially founded - the Main Directorate of the Air Fleet of the country was established. It took him only twenty years to enter the list of the 20 largest air carriers in the world.
The leading position, carrying about 9 million passengers (7 million directly to Aeroflot itself, 2 million - its subsidiaries, which makes up about a quarter of all air traffic in Russia) annually, the airline of the same name holds to this day. And currently it controls about half of all air transportation in the country.
About the Day of the Air Fleet of Russia
Finally, we will tell you about another significant holiday, with which Aeroflot Day is often confused. This is the third Sunday of August, the Day of the Air Fleet of the Russian Federation. Traditionally, it has been honored since 1992 - by order of the Presidium of the Supreme Russian Council. However, unlike the Civil Aviation Day, the holiday vector is militarized - there are demonstration air shows, unforgettable shows with the participation of fighters, an air parade of equipment, etc.
It is believed that the basis of the holiday of the air fleet we owe to two completely dissimilar rulers - Nicholas II and Joseph Stalin:
- On August 12, 1912, the last Russian emperor ordered the creation of the first unit in the empire, which was engaged in the development of the air force, at the General Directorate of the General Staff.
- Stalin, in turn, ordered August 18 to be a holiday dedicated to the Soviet air fleet, already in 1933.
That's all we wanted to tell you about the two most important air holidays in Russia. The confusion in them arose due to the transfer of Civil Aviation Day, Aeroflot, due to which many still believe that this holiday is the same as the Day of Russian Air Force. However, the latter is dedicated to the military air fleet.