The National Centre RUSSIA congratulates aviation professionals on Russian Air Fleet Day

Russian Air Fleet Day is celebrated on 16 August — a professional holiday for people whose lives are connected with aviation. On this day, congratulations are extended to pilots in civil and experimental aviation, air traffic controllers, cabin crew, engineers and technicians, employees of design bureaux and aircraft manufacturing plants, cadets and lecturers at specialised universities, as well as industry veterans.

Aviation plays a special role in the life of the country. It provides passenger and freight transport, connects remote regions, supports the development of business and interregional ties, and performs important tasks in the economic and defence sectors.

Russian Air Fleet Day has deep historical roots. The development of Russian aviation is generally traced back to 1912, when a decision was made to establish the country's first air force unit. In 1933, the USSR introduced Air Fleet Day of the Soviet Union, and in 1980 the tradition of celebrating it on the third Sunday of August was formally established. In modern Russia, the holiday has continued as Russian Air Fleet Day, preserving continuity and respect for those who stood at the origins of aviation.

The history of the Russian air fleet is inseparably linked with the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute named after Professor N. E. Zhukovsky (TsAGI), founded in 1918, and Andrei Nikolayevich Tupolev. He became involved in aviation while still a student, took part in building a glider and flew it himself, and later worked at Russia's first aviation design bureau, designing wind tunnels. Under his leadership within TsAGI, laboratories and experimental facilities were created, along with the country's first plant for the production of all-metal aircraft. Tupolev was convinced that the future of aviation lay with metal and experimentally proved that new alloys were suitable for aircraft engineering, laying the foundation for many Russian design solutions.

Museums and aviation training centres mark the day with themed tours, lectures, meetings with pilots and engineers, quizzes and workshops for children and young people. The holiday is an occasion not only to honour aviation professionals, but also to promote aviation careers, highlight the industry's achievements and explain its role in the country's development.

The National Centre RUSSIA also pays close attention to preserving and reflecting on this experience. It hosts major industry events where representatives of the aviation industry, government and the expert community discuss strategic priorities for the development of the air fleet and technologies of the future. Such discussions help show a broad audience how technological sovereignty in aviation is being built, which areas are becoming key priorities and why renewing the civil aviation fleet is important for the entire country. The National Centre RUSSIA provides a platform where the achievements of the aviation industry and government institutions gain public visibility and become part of the wider conversation about the country's future.