Pulkovo Airport

Pulkovo Airport Аэропорт Пулково
IATA: LED ICAO: ULLI WMO: 26063
Summary
Airport type	International
Owner	Saint Petersburg City Administration
Operator	Northern Capital Gateway
Serves	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Hub for	Rossiya Airlines S7 Airlines Ural Airlines
Elevation AMSL	79 ft / 24 m
Coordinates	59°48′01″N 30°15′45″E / 59.80028°N 30.26250°E / 59.80028; 30.26250
Website	pulkovoairport.ru
Map
LED Location of airport in Saint Petersburg
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10R/28L 3,780 12,401 Cement-concrete 10L/28R 3,397 11,145 Cement-concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 13,211,371 Passenger change 14–15 7.4% Aircraft movements 137,529 Movements change 14–15 6.2%
Sources: Passenger Traffic, ACI Europe[1] AIP of the Russian Federation[2]

Pulkovo Airport (Russian: Аэропорт Пулково; IPA: [ˈpulkəvə]) (IATA: LED, ICAO: ULLI) is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia. It consists of one terminal, Terminal 1 which is located 23 km (14 mi) south of the city centre.^[3] The airport serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines^[4] (formerly Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise), and as focus city for Nordavia. Pulkovo International Airport is responsible for serving the citizens of Saint Petersburg, as well as the Leningrad Oblast: a total of 6,120,000 people.

Description

Pulkovo Airport was officially opened on June 24, 1932, as a state-owned domestic airport. In 2013, 12,854,366 passengers (a +15.6% increase from that of 2012) traveled through Pulkovo airport, making it the 3rd busiest airport in Russia and Post-Soviet states.^[3] Pulkovo had a passenger traffic rate of 9,874,941 (+12.6%) as of September 1, 2014. The airport holds the title of being one of the largest airports in Russia and Eastern Europe.

History

1931-1986

In January 1931, construction of an aerodrome near Leningrad (Saint Petersburg's official name between 1924 and 1991 and the source of the airfield's IATA code of "LED" ^[3]) commenced and was completed on June 24, 1932, with the first aircraft arriving at 17:31 that day, after a two-and-a-half hour flight from Moscow carrying passengers and mail.^[5] This aerodrome was at first named Shosseynaya Airport, the name coming from the nearby Shosseynaya railway station.^[6] Soon after the airport opened regular flights to Petrozavodsk, Pudozh, Arkhangelsk, and Murmansk.

In 1936, a foundation for a new terminal was laid out. Leningrad′s airport was also provided with new G-2s and PS-84s.^[7] In 1941, a new completely commercial passenger route between Moscow and Leningrad was opened; before it was a mixed passenger-mail route. Construction of the new terminal thrived between 1937 and 1941. The architects of the new three-story terminal were Aleksandr Ivanovich Gegello and N.E. Lansere. Construction was abruptly put on hold in July 1941, one month after Nazi Germany′s invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941. The airport was the front line in the German Siege of Leningrad. There were no flights between 1941 and 1944. The nearby Pulkovo hills were occupied by the Germans and were used by German long-range artillery for daily bombardments of Leningrad. The airport was cleared of the Germans in January 1944, and resumed cargo and mail flights after the runways were repaired in 1945. In February 1948, after the damage was completely repaired, the airport resumed scheduled passenger flights. In 1949, there were scheduled flights to 15 major cities of the USSR, and 15 more short-range flights within the north-western Russia.^[8] In 1949 Shosseynaya Airport recorded a passenger traffic rate of 6,305, 333 tons of mail, and 708 tons of cargo.^[9]

In 1951, the construction of the new terminal was complete. In the mid-1950s the new extended runway was completed, allowing to handle larger aircraft such as Ilyushin-18 and Tupolev-104.^[10] in that same time period the exploitation of jet engine planes began in Shosseynaya Airport. On March 15, 1959, the USSR-42419 Tu-104 was the first commercial jet airplane to take off from the Shosseynaya Airport.

In the early 1960s long-distance airplanes such as the An-24 and Yak-40 began to appear in the airport. Flights to Vladivostok began to emerge in the flight lists. ICAO category 1 standards were implemented in 1965, making way for international operations. By the late 1960s, over 60 airlines had flights to and from Saint Petersburg's airport. On February 8, 1971, Shosseynaya was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.^[11] The airport was renamed Pulkovo Airport on April 24, 1973. In May 1973, the new Pulkovo 1 terminal was opened. The famous 5-cup Pulkovo 1 was designed by Alexandr Zyk. The 5 cups on top were put intentionally to give the terminal a more spacious feeling, as well as to allow more natural sunlight to pass through. This terminal is regarded as a masterpiece of Soviet postmodern architecture.^[12] Pulkovo 1 was a domestic-only terminal. Domestic air traffic increased approximately 45% every decade between the 1970-1990s. The old pre-war building of the airport was renamed to Pulkovo 2 and the terminal was exploited for international flights only.^[13]

On April 11, 1986, the new departure and arrival zones for the international terminal were completed, doubling the passenger traffic rate capacity of Pulkovo 1.

1986-2007

In 1990 Pulkovo Airport reach its passenger traffic rate peak of over 10,000,000 passengers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the number of passengers declined. In 2005 Pulkovo Airport gained independence as it separated from the Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise. Also in 2005 Rosavia declares that Pulkovo Airport (still state-owned) is to have an open tender on an investment project of the new terminal construction.This allowed it to sell shares and begin working on investment bidding projects. In 2006 Pulkovo Airport served just over 5,000,000 passengers: only 50% of the number from 1990.

2007-Present

In 2007, the winner was announced. Grimshaw Architects wins the tender. In 2009 The Saint Petersburg Transportation Ministry requests that an operating company for Pulkovo Airport be created.

NCG (Northern Capital Gateway), a consortium, is set up by Russian VTB Capital Bank, international Fraport AG Company and Greek Copelouzos Group. On April 29, 2010. NCG wins the tender for a 30-year operating lease over Pulkovo Airport. On November 24, 2010, Vladimir Putin (being the PM of Russia at that time) attends the construction ceremony and on that same day construction of the new 150,000 m² Terminal 1.

Infrastructure

Pulkovo 2

Pulkovo 2 is approximately 25,000 m² (270,000 sq ft). The terminal used to serve as the international departures and arrivals zone. It was last renovated in 2009. Today, Pulkovo 2 is used as a second-hand terminal for government officials and VIP members.

Pulkovo 1

This terminal is 43,000 m² (460,000 sq ft).^[14] It served as the main terminal for over 30 years. Pulkovo 1 was built for 6,500,000 passengers annually, but by 2008 it surpassed its maximum capacity.^[15] Today Pulkovo 1 is under a major reconstruction. This terminal is planned to be used as the domestic transit/departure zone. The zone is planned to have several duty-free shops, restaurants, and 6 jet bridges. When Pulkovo 1 is completed, Pulkovo Airport's capacity will increase to 17,000,000 passengers annually. Reconstruction of Pulkovo 1 was finished at the end of 2014.

Terminal 1

Construction of Terminal 1 was delayed several times and began in 2010. In November 2013, the airport was tested for errors by over 5,200 residents of Saint Petersburg who partook in the process. Several days after the testings The new Terminal 1 opened on December 3, 2013. On February 14, 2014, all operations were consolidated into the new terminal as the old Pulkovo 1 and Pulkovo 2 terminals have been shut down.^[14] The new terminal contains several business lounges, restaurants (including chains such as Starbucks, Burger King, and McDonald's),^[16] pharmacies, and an Irish pub. Terminal 1 is 147,000 m SQ and has 400,000 m² airport dock in front of it. The airport has 88 check-in counters, 110 passport booths, 7 baggage carousels, 110 parking stands, 17 gates, and 17 escalators. The interior of the new airport was designed by Grimshaw Architects and directly correlates with the designs and style of Saint Petersburg city. The new Terminal also sought many artistic sculptures and paintings to give a sense of thriving culture to passengers. Four sculptures from Dmitry Shorin's project named I Believe in Angels decorate the departure hall.^[17][18]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Seasonal: Athens, Heraklion, Rhodes, Thessaloniki
Aeroflot	Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Aeroflot operated by Rossiya Airlines	Almaty, Arkhangelsk, Barcelona, Berlin-Schönefeld, Chelyabinsk, Denpasar, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Istanbul–Atatürk,[19] Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk–Yemelyanovo, Larnaca, Milan–Malpensa, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow–Vnukovo, Munich, Murmansk, Nice, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Perm, Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Samarkand, Simferopol, Sochi, Surgut, Syktyvkar, Tashkent, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Tyumen, Ufa, Yekaterinburg Seasonal: Anapa, Antalya, Burgas, Chișinău, Gelendzhik, Rimini, Tivat, Varna Seasonal charter: Pardubice
Air Astana	Almaty, Astana
airBaltic	Riga
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Moldova	Chișinău
Air Serbia	Seasonal: Belgrade
Alitalia	Seasonal: Catania,[20] Rome–Fiumicino[20]
Alrosa Mirny Air Enterprise	Mirny, Novosibirsk, Polyarny, Yakutsk
Arkia	Seasonal: Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion
Avia Traffic Company	Bishkek, Osh
Austrian Airlines	Seasonal: Vienna
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku, Ganja
Azur Air	Seasonal charter: Heraklion, Punta Cana
Belavia	Minsk
British Airways	London–Heathrow
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels
Buta Airways	Baku (begins 29 October 2017)[21]
China Southern Airlines	Lanzhou, Ürümqi
China Eastern Airlines	Shanghai–Pudong
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca[22]
Czech Airlines	Prague
Ellinair	Seasonal: Heraklion, Kavala, Thessaloniki
Emirates	Dubai–International
Finnair operated by Nordic Regional Airlines	Helsinki
Georgian Airways	Tbilisi
Hainan Airlines	Beijing–Capital
IrAero	Barnaul,[23] Irkutsk
Iran Aseman Airlines	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Izhavia	Izhevsk
KLM	Amsterdam
Komiaviatrans	Belgorod, Nizhnekamsk, Perm, Syktyvkar, Ukhta
Korean Air	Seasonal: Seoul–Incheon
Kostroma Air Enterprise	Kostroma
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Mahan Air	Seasonal: Tehran–Imam Khomeini Charter: Mashhad
Mistral Air	Seasonal charter: Verona
Montenegro Airlines	Seasonal: Tivat
Nordavia	Arkhangelsk, Batumi,[24] Chelyabinsk,[24] Kazan,[24] Murmansk, Naryan-Mar, Samara, Syktyvkar, Tbilisi,[24] Volgograd,[24] Voronezh Seasonal: Kaliningrad,[24] Lankaran[24]
Nordica operated by LOT Polish Airlines	Tallinn
NordStar	Moscow–Domodedovo,[25] Norilsk
Nordwind Airlines	Seasonal charter: Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Bodrum, Heraklion, Goa, Monastir, Phuket, Tehran-Imam Khomeini
Nouvelair	Seasonal charter: Enfidha, Monastir
Pobeda	Moscow-Vnukovo (begins 29 October 2017),[26] Nalchik,[27] Rostov-on-Don, Vladikavkaz,[27] Volgograd[27] Seasonal: Makhachkala, Yekaterinburg
Pegas Fly	Seasonal charter: Nha Trang
Pskovavia	Cheboksary, Kotlas, Pskov
Red Wings Airlines	Makhachkala, Simferopol, Sochi Seasonal: Kranodar,[28] Tivat[28]
Royal Flight	Seasonal charter: Antalya, Barcelona, Bodrum, Macau, Rhodes
RusLine	Cheboksary, Bergen,[29] Ivanovo, Kirov, Kursk, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oslo, Penza, Tambov, Tallinn, Ulyanovsk, Vilnius, Voronezh Seasonal: Gelendzhik,[30] Palanga,[29]
S7 Airlines	Berlin-Tegel, Bryansk, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Moscow–Domodedovo, Novosibirsk, Yaroslavl Seasonal: Innsbruck (begins 29 December 2017),[31] Salzburg (begins 23 December 2017),[32] Turin (begins 24 December 2017),[33] Verona (begins 23 December 2017)[33]
S7 Airlines operated by Globus	Moscow–Domodedovo Seasonal: Novosibirsk
Saravia	Kirov, Saratov, Volgograd
Scandinavian Airlines	Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Copenhagen
Severstal Air Company	Apatity/Kirovsk, Cherepovets, Sovetsky, Ukhta, Veliky Ustyug
Somon Air	Dushanbe, Khujand
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich
Taban Air	Seasonal: Tehran--Imam Khomeini
Tajik Air	Dushanbe, Khujand
Tunisair	Seasonal: Monastir
Turkish Airlines	Antalya, Istanbul–Atatürk
Turkmenistan Airlines	Aşhgabat
Ural Airlines	Baku[34] Barnaul, Beijing–Capital, Bishkek, Chita, Dushanbe, Eilat-Ovda,[35] Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Khabarovsk, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow–Domodedovo, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Osh, Rostov-on-Don, Tel Aviv–Ben Gurion, Vladivostok, Yakutsk, Yekaterinburg, Yerevan Seasonal: Barcelona, Batumi, Larnaca, Simferopol, Sochi, Tbilisi, Tenerife-South (begins 27 October 2017),[36] Tomsk Seasonal charter: Burgas, Enfidha, Heraklion, Palma de Mallorca, Rimini, Rhodes, Varna
UTair Aviation	Baku,[37] Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow–Vnukovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Noyabrsk, Samara, Surgut, Vladikavkaz Seasonal: Anapa, Novy Urengoy
UVT Aero	Bugulma, Kazan, Nizhnevartovsk, Salekhard
Uzbekistan Airways	Andizhan, Bukhara, Ferghana, Karshi, Namangan, Navoi, Samarkand, Tashkent, Termez, Urgench
Vologda Aviation Enterprise	Vologda
Vueling	Alicante, Barcelona
Wizz Air	Budapest (begins 23 August 2017)[38]
Yakutia Airlines	Yakutsk Seasonal: Magadan, Novosibirsk
Yamal Airlines	Apatity/Kirovsk, Novy Urengoy,[39] Tyumen Seasonal: Simferopol
Zagros Airlines	Seasonal: Isfahan

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Asiana Cargo	Gothenburg–Landvetter, Seoul–Incheon, Vienna

Statistics

Passenger Statistics

2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
4,337,749	4,654,405	5,101,842	6,137,805	7,071,537	6,758,352	8,443,753	9,610,767	11,154,560	12,854,366	14,264,732	13,500,125	13,300,000

Route statistics

2015

Busiest domestic routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2015^[40]

Rank	City	Region	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Moscow	Moscow Moscow Oblast	Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo	Aeroflot, Rossiya, S7 Airlines, UTair, Transaero	3,742,144
2	Simferopol	Crimea	Simferopol Airport	Red Wings Airlines, Rossiya	0578,200
3	Kaliningrad	Kaliningrad Oblast	Khrabrovo Airport	Nordavia, Rossiya	0294,842
4	Sochi	Krasnodar Krai	Adler-Sochi International Airport	Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0293,969
5	Yekaterinburg	Sverdlovsk Oblast	Koltsovo Airport	Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0252,398
6	Arkhangelsk	Arkhangelsk Oblast	Talagi Airport	Nordavia, Rossiya	0250,958
7	Krasnodar	Krasnodar Krai	Pashkovsky Airport	Donavia, Pobeda, Rossiya	0246,697
8	Murmansk	Murmansk Oblast	Murmansk Airport	Nordavia, Rossiya	0232,884
9	Mineralnye Vody	Stavropol Krai	Mineralnye Vody Airport	Donavia, Rossiya	0197,204
10	Novosibirsk	Novosibirsk Oblast	Tolmachevo Airport	Rossiya, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines	0187,176

Busiest CIS routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2015^[40]

Rank	City	Country	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Minsk	Belarus	Minsk National Airport	Belavia, Rossiya	162,712
2	Kiev	Ukraine	Boryspil International Airport Kiev International Airport (Zhuliany)	Rossiya, Transaero, Ukraine International Airlines	162,103
3	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Tashkent International Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	123,268
4	Almaty	Kazakhstan	Almaty International Airport	Air Astana, Rossiya	118,300
5	Dushanbe	Tajikistan	Dushanbe International Airport	Rossiya, Somon Air, Tajik Air	088,266
6	Samarkand	Uzbekistan	Samarkand Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	087,108
7	Chișinău	Moldova	Chișinău International Airport	Air Moldova, Rossiya	079,106
8	Astana	Kazakhstan	Astana International Airport	Air Astana, Rossiya	075,381
9	Urgench	Uzbekistan	Urgench International Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	049,839
10	Baku	Azerbaijan	Heydar Aliyev International Airport	Azerbaijan Airlines, Rossiya	047,542

Busiest international routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2015^[40]

Rank	City	Country	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Antalya	Turkey	Antalya International Airport	Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0460,392
2	Frankfurt	Germany	Frankfurt Airport	Lufthansa, Rossiya	0268,795
3	Paris	France	Charles de Gaulle Airport	Air France, Rossiya	0216,483
4	Hurghada	Egypt	Hurghada International Airport	Ural Airlines	0206,471
5	Larnaca	Cyprus	Larnaca International Airport	Rossiya, Transaero	0179,738
6	Sharm el-Sheikh	Egypt	Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport	Metrojet, Rossiya	0170,557
7	Istanbul	Turkey	Istanbul Atatürk Airport	Rossiya, Turkish Airlines	0151,657
8	Munich	Germany	Munich Airport	Lufthansa, Rossiya	0150,517
9	Rome	Italy	Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport	Alitalia, Rossiya	0134,930
10	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	Dubai International Airport	Emirates, Rossiya	0124,709

2013

Busiest domestic routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2013^[40]

Rank	City	Region	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Moscow	Moscow Moscow Oblast	Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo	Aeroflot, Gazpromavia, Rossiya, S7 Airlines, UTair Aviation	2,965,331
2	Kaliningrad	Kaliningrad Oblast	Khrabrovo Airport	Rossiya	0287,796
3	Arkhangelsk	Arkhangelsk Oblast	Talagi Airport	Nordavia, Rossiya	0248,298
4	Murmansk	Murmansk Oblast	Murmansk Airport	Nordavia, Rossiya	0247,633
5	Sochi	Krasnodar Krai	Adler-Sochi International Airport	Donavia, Rossiya	0237,678
6	Yekaterinburg	Sverdlovsk Oblast	Koltsovo Airport	Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0181,933
7	Krasnodar	Krasnodar Krai	Pashkovsky Airport	Rossiya, Yakutia Airlines	0169,533
8	Novosibirsk	Novosibirsk Oblast	Tolmachevo Airport	Rossiya, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines	0150,629
9	Rostov-on-Don	Rostov Oblast	Rostov-on-Don Airport	Donavia, Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0124,281
10	Samara	Samara Oblast	Kurumoch International Airport	Ak Bars Aero, Rossiya	0115,542

Busiest CIS routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2013^[40]

Rank	City	Country	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Kiev	Ukraine	Boryspil International Airport Kiev International Airport (Zhuliany)	Rossiya, Ukraine International Airlines, UTair-Ukraine	177,838
2	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	Tashkent International Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	129,151
3	Samarkand	Uzbekistan	Samarkand Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	105,747
4	Dushanbe	Tajikistan	Dushanbe International Airport	Rossiya, Somon Air, Tajik Air	086,141
5	Minsk	Belarus	Minsk National Airport	Belavia, Rossiya	084,778
6	Simferopol	Ukraine	Simferopol International Airport	Air Onix, Rossiya	080,826
7	Almaty	Kazakhstan	Almaty International Airport	Air Astana, Rossiya	074,700
8	Baku	Azerbaijan	Heydar Aliyev International Airport	Azerbaijan Airlines, Rossiya	061,570
9	Urgench	Uzbekistan	Urgench International Airport	Rossiya, Uzbekistan Airways	055,707
10	Khujand	Tajikistan	Khujand Airport	Nordstar Airlines, Rossiya, Somon Air, Tajik Air	043,925

Busiest international routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2013^[40]

Rank	City	Country	Airports	Airlines	Number of passengers
1	Antalya	Turkey	Antalya International Airport	Rossiya, Ural Airlines	0451,046
2	Frankfurt	Germany	Frankfurt Airport	Lufthansa, Rossiya	0307,103
3	Hurghada	Egypt	Hurghada International Airport	Ural Airlines	0287,363
4	Munich	Germany	Munich Airport	Lufthansa, Rossiya	0235,710
5	Larnaca	Cyprus	Larnaca International Airport	Rossiya, Transaero	0230,291
6	Paris	France	Charles de Gaulle Airport	Air France, Rossiya	0228,564
7	Sharm el-Sheikh	Egypt	Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport	Metrojet, Rossiya	0222,671
8	Berlin	Germany	Tegel Airport, Schönefeld Airport	Air Berlin (TXL), Rossiya (SXF)	0186,644
9	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	Dubai International Airport	Emirates, Rossiya	0177,120
10	Prague	Czech Republic	Prague Václav Havel Airport	Czech Airlines, Rossiya	0143,956

Investors

Northern Capital Gateway (NCG) began managing the airport in 2009.^[41]

The airport’s website lists the companies currently participating alongside NCG:^[41]

"Russian VTB Capital, member of state-owned VTB Group, German Fraport AG, which manages and operates the airport of Frankfurt and many other international airports, and Horizon Air Investments S.A. member of the Greek Copelouzos Group".

Although not yet listed on the website, the latest investor is Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which now owns a 24.99% share of the Pulkovo Airport.^[42]

Qatar Investment Authority

In mid-2016, Qatari sovereign wealth fund QIA was proud to announce that it had purchased nearly a quarter-percent stake in the Russian airport.^[43]

Qatar purchased a roughly 10% stake in Thalita Trading from Germany’s airport operating holding, Fraport (FRAG.DE), in July 2016.^[44] Thalita Trading is the parent company of NCG, manager of the airport.^[45] It was reported that Fraport expected to make between €30-40 million in the sale.^[46]

Qatar then bought stake from Copelouzos Group to grow its share in Thalita, and consequently the entire airport, to 24.99%.^[47] As of September 2016, it was reported that QIA was to pay €239, or $269 million, for the quarter-percent stake.^[48]

Commenting on the sale, Qatar’s Doha News reported that:^[49]

"QIA’s purchase of a stake in Pulkovo increases the country’s interest in foreign airports, following a big investment in London Heathrow operator Heathrow Airport Holdings".

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Thani, vice chairman of QIA and member of Qatar’s ruling Al-Thani family, is now listed as a member of the Board of Directors on the Pulkovo airport’s website, along with Arturo Carta of QIA.^[50]

Investment background and controversy

QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar founded in 2005 by the Al-Thani family.

Since its inception, the sovereign wealth fund has been ramping up its worldwide real estate purchases, and most recently has invested heavily throughout the United States. The fund purchased stake in the Empire State Building in August 2016 and became the primary investor in one of Washington, D.C.’s larger mixed-use developments, CityCenterDC, which delivered in 2015.^[51]

In December 2016, QIA together with commodities trader Glencore purchased a 19.5% share in Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft, for €10.2 billion ($10.8 billion).^[52] Rosneft has been under sanctions by the European Union and United States since 2014.^[53][54] A few months following the deal, Reuters reported that when asked if he was still confident about the investment, QIA CEO Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Thani responded "Absolutely, no doubt".^[55]

In March 2017, CEO Al-Thani announced Qatar’s latest venture: "Soon we will be opening an office in the Silicon Valley in San Francisco".^[56][57]

Qatar’s aggressive investments, including its "interest in foreign airports", have been met with hesitation from those suspicious about the country’s longstanding connections to multiple terrorist organizations and their senior-level operators.^[58][59][60]

Ground transportation

• "Marshrutka" minibuses № K-39 run on several lines, some of them following the city bus routes (and using matching line numbers).
• Pulkovo Airport is served by the shuttle buses(№39 and №39Ex).They connect the airport with metro station "Moskovskaya" on line M2.
• Train station "Аirport" (Russian "Аэропорт") is 15 minutes walk from terminal 1.

For private car travel, Pulkovo Airport is accessible via the nearby Pulkovo Highway (Pulkovskoe shosse) from St. Petersburg city center.

Accidents and incidents

• April 27, 1974, an Ilyushin Il-18V passenger aircraft of Aeroflot flying to Krasnodar crashed right after take off from Pulkovo after engine fire. All 108 passengers and 10 members of crew died.
• June 26, 1991, an Antonov An-24 cargo aircraft of the AKF Polet company heading to Voronezh crashed in the Gulf of Finland five minutes after take off from Pulkovo. All ten people on board died.

For a more comprehensive list, see Aviation Safety Network Entry for LED.

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Russia
• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
• List of the busiest airports in Europe

References

External links

Media related to Pulkovo Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official site (in English) (in Russian)
• Current weather for ULLI at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LED at Aviation Safety Network

Coordinates: 59°48′01″N 30°15′45″E / 59.80028°N 30.26250°E / 59.80028; 30.26250