French actor Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship a year ago, has set up his own airline so that he can make money by leasing out his private jet when he isn't using it, a news report said.
The airline, which was registered in Belgium in November, is called Cyran R in honor of Cyrano de Bergerac, the main character of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play of the same name, Belgian newspaper L'Echo reported Tuesday.
Depardieu played the big-nosed Bergerac in a 1990 film based on Rostand's play and the role earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Cyran R will not only fly passengers, but will also deliver medicine and even organs donated for transplant operations.
His jet is currently being kept at an airport in Lille, France, not far from his home in neighboring Belgium, where he is also a citizen.
In 2012 he threatened to renounce his French citizenship over the French government's attempt to introduce a 75 percent tax on the rich.
After being granted a Russian passport by President Vladimir Putin last January, Depardieu took up residence in Saransk, about 600 kilometers southeast of Moscow.
