What did the An-24 replace at Aeroflot?

Short answer

The An-24 was designed to replace the Ilyushin Il-14, the veteran piston-engined transport, on short- and medium-haul routes. It was a 50-seat regional airliner with two turboprops, designed in 1957 by the Antonov bureau. It entered service on 31 October 1962.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

ER-46508 Air MoldovaPieter van Marion (CC BY SA), vía commons

A replacement for the Il-14

The An-24 was designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union, at the Antonov design bureau, as a 50-seat regional airliner with two turboprops. The aircraft it was intended to replace was the Ilyushin Il-14, the veteran piston-engined transport, on short- and medium-haul routes. For that role its design was optimised so it could operate from poor-quality runways and unprepared airfields in remote locations.

First flight and entry into service

The first flight took place on 29 October 1959. Entry into service came on 31 October 1962, on the route between Kiev and Kherson.

A family of variants

From the An-24B came an export version fitted with the AI-24T (SrsII) turboprop. There was also an export variant with additional thrust, similar to the An-24V but equipped with an auxiliary turbojet producing 1,985 lb (8,830 N) of thrust. Among the tactical transport versions was one fitted with a ventral cargo hatch, a cargo winch and an escape hatch. From that tactical transport came a further variant, similar but with an auxiliary turbojet.