Strigino International Airport

It is unknown when the first aerodrome in Nizhny Novgorod was built, but its location was 0.5 km north from where the "Moscow" movie theater stands today. This aerodrome was named Nizhny Novgorod Airport. On July 23, 1923, the first domestic and regular flight in Russia was from Khodynka Airport, Moscow, to Nizhny Novgorod Airport, Nizhny Novgorod. The flight was carried on a 4-seated Junkers F. 13.

In 1937, due to Gorky's (Nizhny Novgorod's official name between 1932-1990) spontaneous population increase, the USSR Council of Ministers ordered that a new aerodrome was to be built outside the city's municipal district. In 1938, the new "Strigino" airport completed construction. Today, Nizhny Novgorod International Airport is still located in the same general location as the Strigino airport. The new runways could handle the Douglas DC-3, Junker F. 13, Junker A. 35, and other light-weight aircraft.

In World War 2, the airport served as an air base for the 201st air division. In 1950, 5 years after the war, the division was regrouped into the 148th air division and relocated to air bases in the Far East.

In 1963, a new domestic terminal began construction. The terminal completed construction in 1965, and had its first passengers that same year. This terminal is still used today as Strigino's main facility for departures and arrivals. Also in 1963 a new enterprise "Nizhny Novgorod United Air Group" was formed. This group operated the airport from 1963-1994. From 1966-1973 a new administrative zone, repair hangar, cargo terminal, and hostel completed construction. Additionally, Strigino's apron was expanded and runway lengthened and reinforced.

Between 1976-1983 a second concrete runway finished optimization and a 6-storey "Aeroflot" hotel was built. In 1989, Strigino hit it passenger traffic record of approximately 1,030,000. Renovations of the Terminal A (main terminal) we made in 1991 after the dissolution of the USSR, and in 1993 in preparation for gaining international status.

In 1994, after the fall of the Soviet Union and a rapid increase in international flights, and after the airport passed the ICAO Category I standards, Strigino was given international status. Also in 1994 the "Nizhny Novgorod United Air Group" was split into 3 new companies: the state-owned "Nizhny Novgorod International Airport", the "Nizhny Novgorod Airlines" airline company, and the "Aeronavigation NN".

In 2003, after a steady decrease in passenger traffic and a lack of sufficient funds, Nizhny Novgorod International Airport went bankrupt and was forced to host multiple auctions. Beginning 2004, the traffic rate began to rise again, but at a relatively low pace. This was due to a certain locked cycle involving NN's low potential. Nizhny Novgorod needed more passengers in order to start receiving investments. But in order to have more passengers, a new modern terminal was needed to be built, to set a more pleasant environment. However, there weren't enough funds to build the new terminal, and the cycle refreshes.

In 2011 HC Airports of Regions won their bid on the investment project into Nizhny Novgorod International Airport. In 2012, certain renovations were made in order to more efficiently exploit the existing facility whilst the new one was being built.

In June 2014, the construction of the new terminal started. It was planned to be open by December 2015 and to be able to handle around 300 passengers per hour. The second terminal will be built after the 2018 World Cup, which is being hosted by Nizhny Novgorod among other cities, and the aforementioned railway station is planned to be constructed during that time as well. The new terminal was opened on December 29, 2015 when the first flight, from Moscow, was directed there. The airport authority planned to redirect all the domestic flights to the new terminal by February 2016, and all the international flights by April 2016.

Strigino's intense passenger traffic rate increase provoked an interest from multiple stock companies, including Basel Aero and HC Airports of Regions. AoR (Airports of Regions) won their bid on the investment project in Strigino in 2011. That same year they developed a 10-year reconstruction plan from 2011-2021, broken down into 3 phases.

This is the old terminal building which still works currently, and before the opening of the new terminal in 2016, it used to serve both Domestic and International flights. The current occupation for this terminal is under decision.

This is the new airport terminal which was constructed in 4 March 2016, where, in the same day, it has begun the testing passenger operations, the real operations commencing is under the decision. The difference between the terminal one and terminal two, is that terminal 2 contains air-bridges and it has a much bigger building. The current occupation for this terminal is under decision.

It is proposed that Nizhny Novgorod International Airport will in future serve as the 4th airport of Moscow. Certain measures have been taken to cement that idea. It has been officially confirmed that the Moscow to Kazan high-speed rail will pass through the Strigino Airport. The railway will go from Moscow's Kursk Railway Station to the planned railway station 700 m from the airport's new terminal. The ride is estimated at 2 hours. This major project is planned to bring over 6,000,000 passengers from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod Int. Airport by 2025.

Phase I consists of the construction of a new terminal: Terminal B. The terminal will be 27,800 m² and will have 4 jet bridges, supplied by the ThyssenKrupp company. Terminal B will be 3 stories high, and will be able to support 1,500,000 passengers annually. Phase I also consists of building an 800 slot parking lot with 28 slots for handicapped citizens. The airport's designs were made by the Hintan Associates company. Phase I is set to be done on December 31, 2015.

Phase II takes into consideration the construction of a 4-star hotel, the high-speed railway station, and the expansion of the terminal. The expansion consists of an additional 2 jet bridges and 8,000 m². Phase III includes added 2 more jet bridges and 10,000 m² of total terminal area, as well as the construction of several business centers and a cargo terminal. Phase II is said to be completed by 2018, whilst Phase III should be done in 2020.