LZ-BEI rotating on take-off from 24, nicely lit by a low, early-morning sun. This former LOT aircraft (ex SP-LSC) joined the Balkan fleet two years earlier, and was withdrawn from use in 1997. It was broken up in 1999-2000.

It was a real privilege to ride the world's last IL-18 in regular airline service. Visiting the nearby Mount Paektu volcano was stunning too. At the time 43 years old, Air Koryo did not plan to withdraw this classic, which has spent its entire career based in North Korea, within the next ten years…

This is really B-224, painted to represent Chairman Mao's aircraft '208' - that identity has appeared on four different Il-18s

Hangar space is limited at Sharjah but due to the climate, servicing that would take place under cover at most airports can be carried out outdoors.

Probably one of the last times that four operational Il-18's could be seen together

This Il-18 had just been moved here to become a hotel suite, and was still in full Interflug colours at this time.

HA-MOI leaving the East apron, on its way to the take-off runway for the return flight to Budapest. It is taxiing with its doors still open, which may indicate it's carrying a cargo of livestock. On such flights the doors are kept open as long as possible to reduce the heat inside the aircraft.
Less than three months after this photo was taken, HA-MOI made its last commercial flight and was later used as a restaurant in Abda, Hungary. In late 2014 it went to the Múzeum letectva Košice.

As of 3 October 1990 the East German DDR-prefix was no longer valid, and all active DDR- registered aircraft had to be reregistered. This Interflug Il-18 DDR-STI became D-AOAP. In 1995 it became RA-75554 (2nd use), and it was scrapped at Johannesburg in 2000.

Ah, those were the days! LOT Ilyushin 18, in need of some cleaning, on short finals runway 19R at Schiphol... It was withdrawn from use five years later and preserved in Warsaw in 1991. Sadly it was burnt by vandals near the Poniatowski Bridge on September 26, 1995.