Aeroflot has held a seasonal InstaMeet at its home base of Sheremetyevo International Airport to mark the departure of 25 Grandfather Frosts — the Russian Father Christmas — laden with presents for children around the country.

The InstaMeet was organised by Yekaterina Mishchenkova, a creative conceptualist and member of the Union of Photographers of Russia. Instagrammers from across Russia took part, and their work can be seen on Instagram under the #ConceptAeroflot2016 и #ДедМорозинг hashtags.

The Grandfather Frosts posed for hundreds of photographs with Aeroflot passengers and for scenic shots in Sheremetyevo’s Terminal D, outside against the backdrop of Aeroflot aircraft and onboard an Airbus A330.

«This year has been a real Instagram year for Aeroflot,» said Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Saveliev. «We have organised a number of great projects with Instagrammers. We have taken them to see our training facilities, our aircraft hangers and our airport infrastructure. We have organised photo projects at Lake Baikal and in Crimea, as well as several events for international IGers and a huge InstaMeet at Old Trafford in conjunction with Manchester United, for whom Aeroflot has acted as official carrier for a number of years.»

«I am delighted to have organised Aeroflot’s final InstaMeet of 2015 with a festive New Year’s theme,» said Yekaterina Mishchenkova. «The faces of people in the airport lit up when they saw our group of Grandfather Frosts and they automatically reached for their telephone, thus becoming part of our mission. I am particularly pleased that Aeroflot is open to new suggestions and enthusiastically experiments with new formats while remaining true to its traditions! I would like to thank the company’s senior management for this amazing opportunity, and also to wish Aeroflot’s passengers all the best for the New Year.»