View source for Tupolev Tu-154

{{Aircraft infobox
| name = Tupolev Tu-154
| image = Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 Dmitry Karpezo-2.jpg
| caption = Tupolev Tu-154. Photo: see the file page on Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, via [[commons:File:Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 Dmitry Karpezo-2.jpg|Wikimedia Commons]]
| make = Tupolev
| type = Narrow-body jet airliner
| origin = Soviet Union and Russian Federation
| first_flight = 4 October 1968
| produced = 1968–1997 (last aircraft delivered in 2013)
| status = In limited service
| number_built = 1,026
| category = Airliners
}}

The '''Tupolev Tu-154''' is a three-engine, medium-range Soviet jet airliner designed in the mid-1960s, the workhorse of Soviet and Russian airlines for decades.<ref name="wp"/> In 1990 it carried half of all Aeroflot's passengers, and it remained the standard domestic airliner of Russia and other former Soviet states until the mid-2000s. In all, 1,026 were built.<ref name="wp"/> None are on the U.S. civil register.<ref name="faa"/>

== History ==
The Tu-154 was built to replace Aeroflot's Tu-104 jets and its An-10 and Il-18 turboprops.<ref name="wp"/> It is similar in concept to the British Hawker Siddeley Trident and the [[Boeing 727]].<ref name="wp"/> It first flew on October 4, 1968, and entered service with Aeroflot on February 7, 1972.<ref name="wp"/> It went to 17 airlines outside Russia and served several air forces as a government transport.<ref name="wp"/>

It could fly from unpaved and gravel airfields with only basic facilities, so it was widely used in Russia's Arctic north and east, where other airliners could not operate.<ref name="wp"/> Newer noise rules later kept it out of Western Europe.<ref name="wp"/> NATO called it "Careless".<ref name="wp"/>

== Key figures ==
* Cruising speed: 850 km/h (530 mph)<ref name="wp"/>
* Range: 5,280 km (3,280 mi)<ref name="wp"/>
* Engines: three<ref name="wp"/>

{{Owner notes}}

== Photos ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="170">
File:East Line Tupolev Tu-154M Aragao.jpg|East Line Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M. Photo: Pedro Aragão, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M Naumenko.jpg|Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-154B2. Photo: Kirill Naumenko, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Tu154-aviakor.jpg|Tu-154M for the Russian Air Force is under construction on the Aviakor plant in Samara. Photo: Fyodor Borisov, CC BY-SA 3.0
File:Air Koryo, Tupolev Tu-154B, P-552.jpg|Tupolev Tu-154. Photo: Fedor Leukhin, CC BY-SA 2.0
File:Kiev ukraine 1076 state aviation museum zhulyany (25) (5869577851).jpg|Tupolev Tu-154. Photo: DAVID HOLT from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0
File:TU-154m. Cockpit. (3926436610).jpg|Tupolev Tu-154. Photo: Aleksandr Markin, CC BY-SA 2.0
File:Budapest, Aeropark Múzeum, Tupolev-154 B-2 (HA-LCG), 3.jpg|Budapest, Aeropark Múzeum, Tupolev-154 B-2 (HA-LCG). Photo: Christo, CC BY-SA 4.0
</gallery>
All photos are from [[commons:Main Page|Wikimedia Commons]]; click a photo for its full credit and license.

== Buying a Tupolev Tu-154 ==
{{For sale soon}}

== Sources ==
<references>
<ref name="wp">Wikipedia, "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-154 Tupolev Tu-154]", read November 1, 2026. Airplane Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.</ref>
<ref name="faa">Federal Aviation Administration, [https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/releasable_aircraft_download Releasable Aircraft Database], file dated October 30, 2026. Valid registrations of fixed-wing airplanes whose FAA maker and model names belong to this family. Airplane Wiki uses only counts from this file, never owner names or addresses.</ref>
</references>