Pulkovo Airport

Pulkovo Airport Аэропорт Пулково
IATA: LED – ICAO: ULLI
Summary
Airport type	International
Owner	Saint Petersburg City Administration
Operator	Northern Capital Gateway
Serves	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Hub for	Rossiya 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, Aeroport Pulkovo) (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 Saint Petersburg 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 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 (Saint Petersburg's official name between 1924-1991 and where the field's IATA code of "LED" was derived from^[3]) 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 1937-1941. The architects of the new 3-story terminal were Aleksandr Ivanovich Gegello and N.E. Lansere. Construction was abruptly put on hold in July 1941, 1 month after Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941. The airport was the frontline in the Nazi Siege of Leningrad. There were no flights between 1941-1944. The nearby Pulkovo hills were occupied by the Nazis and were used by the long-range artillery for daily bombardments of Leningrad. The airport was cleared of the Nazis 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 to 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

Exterior of old terminal 1

Terminal 1 under reconstruction.

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 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 McDonalds),^[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

Cargo

Statistics

Korean Air Airbus A330-200 in Future Artist Olympiad Livery just arrived at Pulkovo Airport.

S7 Airlines Airbus A321 taxiing at Pulkovo Airport.

SAS Airbus A320 just landed at Pulkovo Airport.

Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 departing at Pulkovo Airport.

Emirates Boeing 777-300 landing in Pulkovo Airport

Passenger Statistics

2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
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

Route statistics

2015

Busiest domestic routes at Pulkovo Airport (by number of passengers) 2015^[22]

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^[22]

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^[22]

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^[22]

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^[22]

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^[22]

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

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 №39A).They are connecting the airport with metro station "Moskovskaya" on line M2.
• Train station "Аirport" (Russian "Аэропорт") is 15 munutes walk from terminal 1.

For private car travel, Pulkovo Airport is accessible via the nearby Pulkovo Highway (Pulkovskoe shosse) from St. Petersburg city center. There are drop offs and pick up areas at both terminals, as well as short and long stay outdoor car parking.

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 (English) (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