The Polish air force formally disbanded its VIP transport-dedicated 36th Special Transport Regiment on 3 January, in accordance with a decision taken by defence minister Tomasz Siemoniak after an investigation into an April 2010 accident.
Ninety-six people, including Polish president Lech Kaczynski, were killed when one of the unit's Tupolev Tu-154Ms crashed in thick fog while attempting to land in Smolensk, Russia.
A Tu-154M and four Yakovlev Yak-40s are to be sold this year, with a Bell 412HP transport helicopter having been transferred to the police.
The disbanded unit has been replaced at Poland's 1st Air Transport Base with another equipped with six Mil Mi-8 and five PZL Swidnik W-3 Sokol helicopters, all in a VIP configuration.
Other governmental VIP transport needs in Poland will be met using the air force's Airbus Military C-295 and Lockheed Martin C-130E transports, while international visits will be supported using aircraft from LOT Polish Airlines. Warsaw currently charters two Embraer 175s from such sources.
Additional reporting by Grzegorz Sobczak
Source: Flight International
