Koltsovo International Airport

1928–1945

Construction of Koltsovo's original aerodrome was between 1928-1930 by demand of the Air Force Institute of the USSR.^[5] It was primarily built as a military aerodrome. In 1932 the 33rd air division, priorly belonging to the Privolzhsky Military District, was transferred to the Koltsovo aerodrome;^[5] the division was later redirected to the border with Finland during the Winter War. One day after Nazi Germany declared war on the USSR, entangling the Soviet Union into World War II, construction of a 1 km runway was announced. Construction began the next day and the runway was completed in three months, a record breaking time for the 1940s.^[5]

On May 15, 1942, USSR's first jet engine plane, the BI-1, completed its maiden flight from Koltsovo airport. The new aircraft was manually operated by Grigory Bakhchivadzhi. Six experimental voyages were conducted on the BI-1, until, on the 7th flight, during maximum speed testing, the pilot lost control of the trajectory of the plane and the plane crashed, resulting in Bakhchivadzhi's death. A 1:1 scale replica of the BI-1 jet plane was recreated in the front square of the airport in honour of the BI-1 and Grigory. The monument still stands.

On July 10, 1943, the airport gained domestic status. This made Koltsovo the first airport in the USSR to have civil and military status at once.^[5] Flights from Yekaterinburg to Moscow were conducted on a daily basis. In December 1943, on the way back from Tehran, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed overnight at the Koltsovo airport. During World War II the airport acted as a joint in the classified route between Fairbanks, Alaska and Moscow, Russia, in which C-47 aircraft were imported into the USSR. By January 1944 Koltsovo owned four aircraft, granted by the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation for the purpose of domestic flights: two LI-2 and two Junkers. After the surrender of Nazi Germany, Koltsovo was used as joint for the relocation of military aircraft to the Pacific Front for the combating of the Japanese Empire. Between 1943-1945, despite the extremely high traffic rates for an airport of such size, no airplane crashes were recorded.^[5]

1945–1991

In 1951 the airfield underwent a reconstruction. In the early 1950s flights from Moscow to Beijing, China, made a layover in Koltsovo. The route from Koltsovo to Beijing was also the airport's first international flight. In 1954 a new terminal completed construction. The Russian Imperial-Modern style and the large spire made this terminal a prominent symbol of Yekaterinburg and all of Sverdlovsk. In 1956 all runways were extended and reinforced with concrete flooring.^[5] This allowed for larger aircraft such as the Tu-104 and IL-18 to dock at Koltsovo. In 1958 a hotel with 100 rooms was buillt 800m from the terminal. The hotel went bankrupt in 1961 and was the demolished the preceding year.

In 1963 a new 3-star "Liner" hotel^[6] with 235 rooms completed construction. On January 1, 1967, a new terminal complex was exploited for domestic flights. This terminal was twice as large as the original terminal and had a passenger traffic limit of 1,500,000 passengers and could support 700 pax/hour. The terminal was placed to the right of the original terminal; today, the new Terminal A and B stand where the 1967 terminal stood.

In 1983 an arrival terminal was built. On March 6, 1987, a second runway completed construction and was exploited. In 1991, due to the dissolution of the USSR, the Sverdlovsk united air group of the Ural Civil Airports Office was reformed to the First Sverdlovsk Airline.^[5] In October 1993 Koltsovo was granted international status.^[5] On December 28, 1993, as a result of the division and privatization of the First Sverdlovsk Air, two joint-stock companies were set up: OJSC (now JSC) "Airport Koltsovo" and JSC "Ural Airlines". Later JSC Koltsovo Airport was renamed to JSC "Koltsovo Invest", Koltsovo's current owner company.

2003–present

Angelo Hotel, adjacent to the airport

In 2003 an implement of the airport development as a hub Program was started with the support of Russian Federation Ministry of Transport, Sverdlovsk Oblast Government and the Renova Group. Investment into the Koltsovo large scale reconstruction of 2003–2009 years estimated about 12,000,000,000 rubles: private investments totaled 8,000,000,000 rubles (to the air-terminal complex development and technical re-equipment of services), state investments totaled 4,000,000,000 rubles (to rebuild aerodrome pavement and control tower building).^[5] In 2005 a new international terminal for Yekaterinburg finished construction and was exploited for proper use. The same year Yekaterinburg established new borders of the city, resulting in Koltsovo village, where the airport was located, in becoming part of Yekaterinburg's municipal district.^[7] A new catering facility was also implemented in 2005, as well as the international terminal.^[5]

In 2006, the original Koltsovo terminal was converted to a business terminal and underwent a complete renovation. The preceding year, the domestic terminal adjacent to the international terminal completed construction. In 2008 an aeroexpress railway station from the center of Yekaterinburg to Koltsovo finished building. On June 14, 2009, Koltsovo received its first ever jumbo jet: the Air China Boeing 747 with the Chinese delegates. On June 15, 2009, the international terminal was expanded again and opened by the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev in time for the BRICS (then known as BRIC) summit.^[8] Additionally in 2009 the 4-star Angelo hotel, new control tower, and a fixed runway were put into exploitation.^[5] This enabled the airport to handle all types of heavy aircraft, including the Airbus A380, Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Boeing 747, and Airbus A330 aircraft.

Beginning May 24, 2014, Koltsovo began cooperating with CIS Routes. On July 24, 2012, the airport opened a new cargo terminal with a total area of 19,185 m². The opening ceremony was attended by the governor of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Yevgeny Kuyvashev and Mayor of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Jacob. On June 13, 2013, a new business lounge for domestic passengers was opened.^[9]

Terminals

The VIP (business) terminal in Koltsovo.

Inside Koltsovo's cargo terminal, which was implemented in 2011

Terminal A completed construction in 2007. It is used solely as a departures and arrivals facility for domestic flights. The terminal was 19,600 m² and had a capacity of 1,000 pax/hour. Later the 2005 International terminal was joined to Terminal A, making the total area of the terminal 35,000 m² and the capacity of 1600 pax/hour.^[10] The terminal is 2 floors in height. The ground floor contains check-in desks, baggage claim areas (with carousels), currency exchange centers, a staff room, and several coffee shops. The second floor has several restaurants, including Grenki Pub, a children's nursery room, and the domestic business lounge which opened on June 13, 2013. The lounge is accessible by passengers with business class tickets or for a fine of 1960 rubles.^[11] The terminal has 5 jet bridges and several other bus gates. renovations to the domestic terminal were made as early as of February 18, 2014, with the stylistic and congestion reductional changes.^[12] The renovations began in 2012 with NefaResearch design studies winning the bid for the reconstruction, with Phase I completed on December 27, 2012, and Phase II on February 18, 2014.^[13] The total price of the renovations was listed at 141,000,000 rubles.

Terminal B original completed construction in 2005, with the total area of 15,400 m² and the capacity of 600 pax/hour. On June 15, 2009, a larger, 45,000 m² international terminal completed construction in time for the BRICS summit, and took the role of Terminal B. The original one was merged with the domestic terminal. Terminal B has a capacity of 1600 pax/hour. The terminal consists of 2 floors and is conjoined to Terminal A. The ground floor houses the check-in desks, a baggage claim area with the baggage carousels, customs control and several retail stores. On the second floor there stand the security control, international business lounge, a duty-free shop, a smoking room and several retail shops.^[14] General renovations were made alongside the domestic renovation project. The business terminal was renovated as recent as February 2014.

The business terminal, otherwise known as the VIP terminal, offers those willing to pay a unique experience. The business terminal is accessible only through direct payment. Prices can range from 8,500 rubles (one pass) to 250,000 rubles (12-month membership).^[15] The business terminal is located in Koltsovo's first terminal, built in 1954. The structure has a mix of empire style and Russian neoclassical revival styles, enhansing the royal feel. Inside, the VIP terminal is also styled in neoclassical revival. The business terminal offers separate check-in desks, passport and custom controls. Free WiFi, catering, and delivery to the airplane is also offered.^[16] The total area of the VIP terminal is 9,800 m²

Runways

The airport has 2 runways. Runway 1 is 3004х45 m; Runway 2 is 3026х53. Both runways pass the ICAO Category I standards. Both runways are also equipped with OVI-1 lighting facilities and are capable of handling aircraft of any size in any type of weather. Maintenance of the runways has been conducted as recently as of June 2012.^[17]

Passenger

Cargo

Routes

Aircraft traffic

2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
16,619	18,062	20,162	20,092	21,816	21,877	23,289	32,767	33,407	26,798	33,989	41,142	42,728	50,728

Cargo Traffic (tonnes)

2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
18,344	22,178	20,153	18,054	20,457	11,545	15,519	16,965	17,142	13,585	22,946	24,890	25,866	27,800	25,531

Reference:^[34][35][36]