Zhukovsky International Airport

Zhukovsky International Airport
Международный аэропорт Жуковский
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator Ramport Aero
Serves Moscow
Location Zhukovsky, Russia
Hub for Ural Airlines
Elevation AMSL 123 m / 404 ft
Coordinates 55°33′12″N 038°9′6″E / 55.55333°N 38.15167°E / 55.55333; 38.15167
Website zia.aero
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 5,402 17,723 Concrete
08/26 2,949 9,673 Concrete
12/30 2,500 8,202 Grass

Zhukovsky International Airport (IATA: ZIA, ICAO: UUBW), also known as Ramenskoye Airport or Zhukovsky Airfield (Russian: Аэропорт Раменское, Аэропорт Жуковский), is Moscow's fourth international airport. It is located in Moscow Oblast, Russia 40 km southeast of central Moscow, in the town of Zhukovsky, a few kilometers southeast of the old Bykovo Airport.

After its reconstruction in 2014-2016, Zhukovsky International Airport was officially opened on May 30, 2016. The declared capacity of the new airport was 4 million passengers per year.[2]

History

The plan of the airport's construction

The airfield has served as a major aircraft testing facility since the Cold War years, with most of the major Russian OKBs having facilities there. It is also now used by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and cargo carriers. It was also used as a test site for the Soviet Buran Spacecraft.[3]

Until June 2006, jet fighters flights for the public and international customers were available at the airport. The following two-seater jets were available for public flights on Zhukovsky: Aero L-39 Albatros, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat, for Edge of Space flights, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum[4] and Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. Since June 2006, no public flights are available in Zhukovsky, although it has been said since then that the flights will be available again. Today jet flights in Aero L-39 Albatros aircraft are possible in Russia with the team Vyazma Rus,[5] flights with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 Foxhound have been available on Sokol Airfield. At the moment, only the MiG-29 is available for flights.[6]

On March 29, 2011, then Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin proposed moving all charter and low-cost flights to Ramenskoye Airport (as it was then called), to relieve to Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports and reduce the cost of tickets.[7] A new terminal was constructed and the airport scheduled to be opened on 16 March 2016,[8] but was later postponed to unspecified date due to lack of interest and airport certification issues.[9] The airport was eventually opened on 30 May 2016.[10] The opening ceremony was attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The Joint Venture "Ramport Aero" running the airport is formed by Lithuania's Avia Solutions Group (75%) and Russia state corporation Rostec (25%), who aimed to expand the airport in three stages.[11][12] While the opening of the new airport will be delayed and aircraft limit to Ramenskoye will be implemented,[13] Air France-KLM noted it tends to use Ramenskoye as a diversion airport to Sheremetyevo in case of emergency.[14]

The opening ceremony of the Zhukovsky International Airport was held on 30 May 2016 and the first commercial passenger flights were expected to begin on 20 June 2016.[15] It was originally named after the nearby town of Ramenskoye; but in 2016 the airport was officially named after the town of Zhukovsky, in which it is geographically situated. The town of Zhukovsky, in turn, was named after a pioneer of modern aerodynamics research, Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky.

The airfield is a part of the Gromov Flight Research Institute and hosts the biennial MAKS Airshow. The airport is also home to the world's second longest public-use runway, at 5,402 m (17,723 ft).

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular and scheduled services to and from Zhukovsky:

AirlinesDestinations
Air Manas Bishkek
Avia Traffic Company Osh
Belavia Minsk
Onur AirIstanbul–Atatürk
Pegas Fly Baku, Xi'an
SCAT Airlines Astana
SunExpress Seasonal charter: Antalya[16]
Ural Airlines Bishkek, Dushanbe, Khujand, Osh, Rome–Fiumicino, Simferopol, Tbilisi [17], Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion
Yamal Airlines Bishkek, Dushanbe, Khujand, Osh

References

  1. ↑ "Аэропорт Раменское не сомневается в своих возможностях". Авиатранспортное обозрение. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Телеканал РБК — Сегодня. Главное
  3. ↑ Documentation AKC Full Scale Stand of Equipment (FSSE) and Piloting Dynamic Stand for Training (PDST)
  4. ↑ "MiG-29 Flight from Sokol Airbase". MiGFlug. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Fly MiG 29 Jet Fighter. Supersonic Jet Flight | FlyFighterJet.com". FlyFighterJet.com. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Aviaport digest (in Russian)
  8. ↑ "Moscow's New Ramenskoye Airport to Open in March". The Moscow Times. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Названа дата открытия четвертого московского аэропорта" (in Russian). Meduza. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Zhukovsky international airport opens in Moscow Region" (in Russian). TASS. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "Ramport will welcome its first passengers in 2016" (Press release). Rostec. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "Lithuania’s Avia Solutions Group chooses partners for new Moscow airport". The Baltic Course. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rusijos valdžia nori riboti skrydžių kiekį iš naujojo Maskvos oro uosto" (in Lithuanian). 15 min. Baltic News Service. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  14. ↑ ""Air France-KLM" ketina lietuvių pastatytą Maskvos Ramenskojės oro uostą naudoti kaip atsarginį" (in Lithuanian). 15 min. Baltic News Service. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Fourth international airport opens in Moscow". RT International. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  16. ↑ "Турецкие курорты стали еще доступнее с Kidy Tour (АвиаПорт)". АвиаПорт.Ru (in Russian). 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  17. ↑ {{http://www.anna.aero/2017/08/09/ural-airlines-2/

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