The Tu-154, designed for medium to long-range routes and rough airport conditions, entered service in 1968. Since then, over 1,000 have been built, most of which remain in active service.

Born in Russia in 1888, Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev, often referred to as the father of Russian aviation, went on to design aircraft that earned Russia worldwide acclaim for their pioneering contributions to aviation in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Tupolev started his career as an aircraft designer as a student of the Russian aviation pioneer Zhukovski. In 1918, he was put in charge of TsAGI (Central Aero- and Hydrodynamics Institude). In 1922, Tupolev was given his own aircraft firm. Throughout its existence, Tupolev designed and built an enormous number of various aircraft.