Domodedovo International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Domodedovo passenger terminal

Domodedovo International Airport (Russian: Международный Аэропорт Москва-Домодедово) (IATA: DME, ICAO: UUDD) is an international airport located 35 km (22 miles) south of the centre of Moscow, Russia. It is one of the three major Moscow airports along with Sheremetyevo International Airport and Vnukovo Airport. Domodedovo is the largest airport in Russia in terms of passenger and cargo traffic; 18.76 million passengers used the airport in 2007 (22% increase over 2006).

[edit] History

^{[citation needed]}

Services from Domodedovo began in March 1964 with a flight to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) using a Tupolev 104. The airport, intended to handle the growth of long-distance domestic traffic in the USSR, was officially opened in May 1965. A second runway, parallel to the existing one, was put into service 18 months after the opening of the airport. On 26 December 1975, Domodedovo Airport was selected for the inaugural flight of Tupolev Tu-144 to Alma Ata.

Since 1996, Domodedovo Airport has been operated by East Line Group on a 75-year lease, although the runways continue to be controlled by the state. The group has been heavily investing in reconstruction of the airport, arranging for customs to be more convenient and the airport to be kept clean. Because of various issues at Sheremetyevo, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, and Austrian Airlines moved their flights from there to Domodedovo. They were followed by Emirates, Brussels Airlines, Thai Airways International and Lufthansa. Meanwhile, Aeroflot had moved some cargo operations to Domodedovo. DME is Russia's first airport to have parallel runways operating simultaneously. Since the air traffic control tower was redeveloped in 2003, DME can control over 70 take-offs and landings an hour. The airport now has five business departure lounges, set up by individual airlines. BA opened its Navigator Club Lounge in 2003. It is fully equipped with Wi-Fi Internet access, food and drink concessions, showers, a cloakroom and massage chairs.The airport is also the hub of some of Russia biggest airlines like S7 Airlines which is the biggest airline tenant in the airport as well as Kras Air and Transaero.

East Line's strategic goal is to stabilize the airport's future, and establish it as a major international and multi-modal transportation hub. In the first nine months of 2004, international passenger flow at DME increased by 52.8% compared to the same period in 2003. Domestic passengers and cargo volumes also increased significantly, making DME one of the world's key airports. DME benefits hugely from its close proximity to the Russian capital, enhanced by its transportation networks. The airport has 136 square kilometres of land reserved around its immediate vicinity, allowing the potential to develop a further seven runways.

[edit] Future expansion

^{[citation needed]}

East Line is currently doubling the terminal space to 225,000 square metres and announced to invest a further US$300 million into construction and upgrades in the next two years. The 97,600m² passenger Terminal (T1) at DME is set to increase in size by 27,000m² in the first stage of expansion which will be designated as T2 (this will be a dedicated international terminal). This first expansion will allow an enlarged space for the check-in area and departure gates.

The first phase of T2 is due to be completed by the end of 2006 and will allow an extra capacity of 7 million passengers per year. This will then be followed by a phase two expansion of T2 which will increase the overall size of the passenger terminal to 225,000m³. This is scheduled for completion by 2012.

By 2012 the new domestic T3 terminal will be completed, increasing DME's capacity to 24-28 million passengers per year, approximately doubling its current capacity. Once T4 is built, the airport's capacity is estimated to be around 30 to 35 million passengers a year. All terminals will remain connected. They will be built as extensions to the existing terminal, and will increase the efficiency of the airport operations and passenger connections by using ICAO and IATA transfer technologies.

[edit] Transport links

Domodedovo Airport train station

Domodedovo is linked to Paveletsky Rail Terminal in downtown Moscow by the non-stop Aeroexpress trains. The trains run every 30-60 minutes from 6am to 11pm to the airport, and from 7am to 12am (midnight) to the city, the ride lasts 40 minutes and costs 150 rubles (less than 5 euro)^[4]. The airlines' passengers can check in themselves as well as their luggage at the Paveletsky Terminal.

Occasional express trains to/from Belorussky Rail Terminal in the city centre via Kursky Rail Terminal and Kalanchevskaya station (60 minutes duration) are available since 2006, directly connecting the airport to five of the city's nine railway terminals. There are three trains per day, however the frequency of the service is going to be increased.

Slower regular commuter trains (elektrichka) from/to Paveletsky Terminal are avaialble as well; there are over 10 trains per day, the journey lasts about 80 minutes and the 2008 price is 72 roubles (or about 2 euro)^[5].

There is a regular coach service between the airport and the Domodedovskaya station of the Moscow Metro located in the southern part of the city. The coaches run every 15 minutes from 6am till midnight; the journey normally lasts 25–30 minutes, the fare is 50 rubles. Share taxis from/to the Metro station are available as well, the fare is 70 rubles.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• 2002: Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, which originated in Domodedovo, collided with DHL Flight 611 over Germany on the way to Barcelona ^[6].
• In August 2004, two suicide bombers (who turned out to be two female Chechen militants) were responsible for a serious security breach at the airport which caused two planes (Volga-AviaExpress Flight 1303 and Siberia Airlines Flight 1047) to be destroyed and 90 passengers to die; the two events were the Russian aircraft bombings of August 2004. Since that time East Line has instigated a new security policy and has spent $20 million on security and detection equipment, which has been installed at the airport.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] New airlines

United Airlines announced that the airline will begin flights from Washington Dulles International Airport to Domodedovo on October 28, 2008^[8]. It will become the 2nd US carrier to serve the airport, following American Airlines which began flights to/from Chicago-O'Hare. It will also become the 3rd US carrier (after American and Delta) to serve the Russian capital.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Domodedovo International Airport

• Domodedovo International Airport Homepage (Russian)
• Domodedovo International Airport Homepage (English)
• Hybrid map and satellite image
• Current weather for UUDD at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for DME at Aviation Safety Network