This weekend Orthodox Christians world wide rejoice Easter, with many churches across the Orthodox world, from the Balkans to Russia, doing so within the presence of the “Holy Fire”, which, following tradition, is lit on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
For the Holy Fire to reach from Jerusalem in time for the Easter evening services at churches everywhere in the Orthodox world, a complete airlift operation takes place, involving multiple aircraft of differing types, from regular airliners to personal and government jets.
Easter 2023 was no different and on the evening of April, 15 2023, a protracted line of aircraft departed Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion aircraft with samplings of the Holy Fire onboard.
Most of those aircraft headed towards multiple cities in Russia, with planespotters identifying not less than five such flights, involving executive jets, specially chartered aircraft and, reportedly, two Gazprom Superjet SSJ100s.
The Russian aviation authority issued special authorizations to a handful of airlines (including Aeroflot, S7, Gazpromavia, KrasAvia, LukoilAvia, NordStar, Rossiya, Turukhan Airlines, Yakutia and Yamal) to hold samplings of the fireplace from Moscow to further destinations inside the country.
Ukraine received also the Holy Fire, although because of the continuing war and airspace restrictions it needed to be flown to Warsaw first.
A Dassault Falcon 2000EX of the federal government of Bulgaria carried the flame to Sofia, while a government of North Macedonia Bombardier Learjet 60 delivered it to Skopje.
In Romania not less than a privately-owned Austrian-registered Bombardier Challenger 350 participated within the airlift. One other executive jet, a Russian-registered Hawker 800XP, flew it from Tel Aviv to Erevan, Armenia.
The flame arrived in Athens on a special Aegean Airlines flight, operated by an Airbus A320neo (registration SX-NEO) and from there, a complete fleet of regional aircraft operated by Aegean’s Olympic Air regional subsidiary carried the fireplace to cities and islands throughout Greece, as did aircraft of Sky Express, one other Greek airline with an intensive domestic network.
Cyprus Airways, in turn, flew the Holy Fire to Larnaca on one among the airline’s two Airbus A320s, which was received on the airport with full military honours.