Vnukovo International Airport
Encyclopedia
Vnukovo International Airport , is a dual runway international airport located 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) southwest from the centre of Moscow
, Russia
. It is one of three major airports serving Moscow (along with Domodedovo International Airport
and Sheremetyevo International Airport
). In 2010 the airport handled 9.46 million passengers, representing a 22.47% increase over 2009.
Vnukovo Airport was opened and used for military operations during the Second World War, but became a civilian facility after the war.
Vnukovo is the oldest of Moscow's operating airports. Its construction was approved by the Soviet government in 1937, since the older Khodynka Aerodrome (located much closer to the city centre, but closed by the 1980s) was becoming overloaded. Vnukovo was opened on 1 July 1941. During the Great Patriotic War it served as a military airbase; passenger services started after the war.
On 15 September 1956 the Tupolev Tu-104
jetliner
made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk
via Omsk
.
On 4 November 1957 the Romanian Workers' Party
, comprising the most prominent politicians of Communist Romania
(Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
, Chivu Stoica
, Alexandru Moghioroş, Ştefan Voitec
, Nicolae Ceauşescu
, Leonte Răutu and Grigore Preoteasa
), was involved in an accident at Vnukovo Airport; Preoteasa (who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time) was killed, as was the aircraft's crew. Several others were seriously injured.
The first passenger flights of Ilyushin IL-18
(Moscow to Alma-Ata, on 20 April 1956) and Tupolev Tu-114
(Moscow to Khabarovsk
on 24 April 1961) were also made from Vnukovo Airport. In 1980 Vnukovo was expanded because of the 22nd Summer Olympic Games
. In 1993 Vnukovo Airport became a joint-stock company.
A massive reconstruction and strategic development programme commenced at Vnukovo International in late 2003, following the transfer by the Federal Government of the controlling stake in the airport to the Government of Moscow
.
As part of the Airport Strategic Development Plan the following projects were completed between 2003 and 2005.
Operators like to stress the fact that, due to its location 28 kilometres (17 mi) southwest from the centre of Moscow, the flying time for Western airlines is 10 to 20 minutes shorter than to the other Moscow airports, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo. Thus each aircraft flying from Vnukovo will burn less fuel.
Of the three Moscow airports, Vnukovo is the highest (204m above sea level) and hence in case of fog it has frequently served as an alternative airport.
The airfield has two intersecting runways of 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) and 3060 metres (10,039.4 ft) in length. Each runway is 60 metres (196.9 ft) wide, with 10m wide safety shoulders on each side. The runways' joint capacity is 60 aircraft movements per hour. The airport has two passenger terminals (International Terminal B and Domestic Terminal 2), one general aviation terminal (for charter business flights), one cargo terminal and 60 aircraft stands. The airport can handle a maximum number of 3,000 passengers per hour, and 4,000 people are employed there. The Tupolev
rework facility is also located at Vnukovo. In 2008 the airport handled almost 8 million passengers, representing a 16.7% increase over 2007.
Vnukovo Airport is equipped with a VIP hall, which is used by many political leaders and important people visiting Russia. The Russian President also uses Vnukovo's VIP facility.
rail link is an inter-modal, direct, high speed line connecting Vnukovo Airport with Kiyevsky Rail Terminal in Moscow city centre was launched. The journey takes 35 minutes.
A new international passenger Terminal A will have a total floor space of 250,000 sq m and passenger throughput capacity of 7,800 passengers per hour, making a total capacity of 18–20 million passengers annually. This will open up a plethora of opportunities for the tenant airlines to expand and radically improve the quality of their customer service at the airport, and ensure the introduction of international-quality service and comfort overall. The sprawling terminal building will be located on the site of the existing domestic passenger terminal and will also serve as a springboard for the subsequent development of the entire adjacent landside area both next to the terminal and further out towards Vnukovo Settlement. The oldest of the Vnukovo passenger terminals, dating back to 1941, will be demolished by the time construction of the new one goes ahead (it started to be dismantled in November 2005). The existing Domestic Terminal 2 built in the late 1970s will continue in operation until its eventual demolition during the final phase of construction and replacement with the new terminal.
The expansion plans include lengthening one of the two V-configured runways (3,000m and 3,060m long) to 3,800m and upgrading the instrument landing system from the present CAT II to CAT III. The existing taxiways are to be extended as part of the expansion and new ones will also be built, along with a brand new control tower, an extension to the cargo terminal and a multi-storey car park.
, Terminal D is used only for domestic flights arrivals from North Caucasus
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is one of three major airports serving Moscow (along with Domodedovo International Airport
Domodedovo International Airport
Moscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...
and Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
). In 2010 the airport handled 9.46 million passengers, representing a 22.47% increase over 2009.
Vnukovo Airport was opened and used for military operations during the Second World War, but became a civilian facility after the war.
History
On 15 September 1956 the Tupolev Tu-104
Tupolev Tu-104
The Tupolev Tu-104 was a twin-engined medium-range turbojet-powered Soviet airliner and the world's first successful jet airliner...
jetliner
Jet airliner
A jet airliner is an airliner that is powered by jet engines. This term is sometimes contracted to jetliner or jet.In contrast to today's relatively fuel-efficient, turbofan-powered air travel, first generation jet airliner travel was noisy and fuel inefficient...
made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
via Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
.
On 4 November 1957 the Romanian Workers' Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, comprising the most prominent politicians of Communist Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
(Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej was the Communist leader of Romania from 1948 until his death in 1965.-Early life:Gheorghe was the son of a poor worker, Tănase Gheorghiu, and his wife Ana. Gheorghiu-Dej joined the Communist Party of Romania in 1930...
, Chivu Stoica
Chivu Stoica
Chivu Stoica was a leading Romanian Communist politician.Stoica was born in Smeeni, Buzău County, the sixth child of a ploughman. At age 12 he left home, and started working as an apprentice at Căile Ferate Române, the state railway corporation...
, Alexandru Moghioroş, Ştefan Voitec
Stefan Voitec
Ştefan Voitec was a Romanian socialist and communist journalist, politician, and statesman of Communist Romania.-Biography:...
, Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, Leonte Răutu and Grigore Preoteasa
Grigore Preoteasa
Grigore Preoteasa was a Romanian communist activist, journalist, and politician, who served as Communist Romania's Minister of Foreign Affairs between October 4, 1955 and the time of his death.-Biography:...
), was involved in an accident at Vnukovo Airport; Preoteasa (who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time) was killed, as was the aircraft's crew. Several others were seriously injured.
The first passenger flights of Ilyushin IL-18
Ilyushin Il-18
The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era as well as one of the most popular and durable, having first flown in 1957 and still in use over 50 years later. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades...
(Moscow to Alma-Ata, on 20 April 1956) and Tupolev Tu-114
Tupolev Tu-114
The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya is a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau and built in the USSR from May 1955....
(Moscow to Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
on 24 April 1961) were also made from Vnukovo Airport. In 1980 Vnukovo was expanded because of the 22nd Summer Olympic Games
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
. In 1993 Vnukovo Airport became a joint-stock company.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
As part of the Airport Strategic Development Plan the following projects were completed between 2003 and 2005.
- April 2004: New Terminal B was opened. The terminal currently handles international passengers, but in the future it will be converted to handle domestic flights or fulfil any other dedicated functions to be determined at a later date. The terminal’s total floor space offering stands at 80,000 sq m, allowing for an annual passenger throughput capacity of four million.
- August 2005: Vnukovo's AeroexpressAeroexpressAeroexpress Ltd. is the air rail link operator in Moscow, Russia. It was formed in 2005. The company is owned by JSC "Russian Railways" and "TransGroup AS" Ltd., each owning 50% shares....
rail link was opened.
Location and capacity
Of the three Moscow airports, Vnukovo is the highest (204m above sea level) and hence in case of fog it has frequently served as an alternative airport.
The airfield has two intersecting runways of 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) and 3060 metres (10,039.4 ft) in length. Each runway is 60 metres (196.9 ft) wide, with 10m wide safety shoulders on each side. The runways' joint capacity is 60 aircraft movements per hour. The airport has two passenger terminals (International Terminal B and Domestic Terminal 2), one general aviation terminal (for charter business flights), one cargo terminal and 60 aircraft stands. The airport can handle a maximum number of 3,000 passengers per hour, and 4,000 people are employed there. The Tupolev
Tupolev
Tupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...
rework facility is also located at Vnukovo. In 2008 the airport handled almost 8 million passengers, representing a 16.7% increase over 2007.
Vnukovo Airport is equipped with a VIP hall, which is used by many political leaders and important people visiting Russia. The Russian President also uses Vnukovo's VIP facility.
Transport
Vnukovo's AeroexpressAeroexpress
Aeroexpress Ltd. is the air rail link operator in Moscow, Russia. It was formed in 2005. The company is owned by JSC "Russian Railways" and "TransGroup AS" Ltd., each owning 50% shares....
rail link is an inter-modal, direct, high speed line connecting Vnukovo Airport with Kiyevsky Rail Terminal in Moscow city centre was launched. The journey takes 35 minutes.
Further expansion
The prospective development programme is intended to last until the year 2015 and is aimed at transforming Vnukovo International into a highly competitive air transportation hub of international significance – one that would offer a comprehensive range of quality services to both its passengers and its tenant carriers.A new international passenger Terminal A will have a total floor space of 250,000 sq m and passenger throughput capacity of 7,800 passengers per hour, making a total capacity of 18–20 million passengers annually. This will open up a plethora of opportunities for the tenant airlines to expand and radically improve the quality of their customer service at the airport, and ensure the introduction of international-quality service and comfort overall. The sprawling terminal building will be located on the site of the existing domestic passenger terminal and will also serve as a springboard for the subsequent development of the entire adjacent landside area both next to the terminal and further out towards Vnukovo Settlement. The oldest of the Vnukovo passenger terminals, dating back to 1941, will be demolished by the time construction of the new one goes ahead (it started to be dismantled in November 2005). The existing Domestic Terminal 2 built in the late 1970s will continue in operation until its eventual demolition during the final phase of construction and replacement with the new terminal.
The expansion plans include lengthening one of the two V-configured runways (3,000m and 3,060m long) to 3,800m and upgrading the instrument landing system from the present CAT II to CAT III. The existing taxiways are to be extended as part of the expansion and new ones will also be built, along with a brand new control tower, an extension to the cargo terminal and a multi-storey car park.
Passenger airlines, terminals and destinations
Terminal B is used for international flights, Terminal A for domestic flights and flights to BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Terminal D is used only for domestic flights arrivals from North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
.
Accidents and incidents
- On 16 January 2010, UTair Aviation Boeing 737-500 VQ-BAC departed the runway on landing and was substantially damaged when the nosewheel collapsed.
- On 4 December 2010, South East Airlines Flight 372, which had departed from Vnukovo, lost power to all its engines and made an emergency landing at Domodedovo International AirportDomodedovo International AirportMoscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...
. Upon landing the plane overshot the runway resulting in a crash and the death of two of the 168 passengers and crew.