Ramenskoye Airport

Ramenskoye International Airport
Международный аэропорт Раменское
IATA: ZIA[1]ICAO: UUBW
Summary
Airport type Military/Public
Operator Ramport
Serves Moscow
Location Zhukovsky, Russia
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
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 Airfield (ICAO: UUBW), also known as Ramenskoye Airport or Zhukovsky Airport (Russian: Аэропорт Раменское, Аэропорт Жуковский), is Moscow's fourth international airport. It is located in Moscow Oblast, Russia located 40 km southeast of center Moscow in the town of Zhukovsky. It was first named after nearest town of Ramenskoye but in 2016 the official name was changed to Zhukovsky airport after the town of Zhukovsky in which the airport is geographically located. It serves as a major aircraft testing facility since the Cold War years with the majority of the major Russian OKBs having facilities on the airfield. It is also now used by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and cargo transportation. This airfield was also used as a test site for the Soviet Buran Spacecraft.[2]

Commercial passenger operations are expected to begin in the spring of 2016.[3]

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

Public jet fighter flights

Until June 2006, flights in jet fighters for the public have been available, also to international customers. The following doubleseater 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 jetflights in Aero L-39 Albatros 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]

Development

On March 29, 2011, then Russian prime-minister Vladimir Putin proposed to move all charter and low-cost flights to Ramenskoye Airport, to give relief to Moscow's Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports and reduce the cost of tickets.[7] The construction of the new terminal has been finished and the airport scheduled to be opened on 16 March 2016,[8] but was later postponed to unspecified date due to lack of interests and airport certification issues.[9][3] The Russian airline I-Fly, which specializes in charter flights, may run the first international flight from the airport.[10] A proposal for the use of airport has also been discussed with Yamal Airlines, Komiaviatrans, Tajik Air, Belavia and SCAT Airlines[9]

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 implementing,[13] Air France-KLM noted it tends to use Ramenskoye as a diversion airport to Sheremetyevo in case of emergency.[14]

References

External links

Media related to Ramenskoye Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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