Pulkovo Airport

Pulkovo Airport (Rus: Аэропорт Пулково, Internal code: ПЛК) is an international airport serving St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the 2nd-busiest airport in Russia and post-Soviet states as well as 30th-busiest airport in Europe. It consists of one terminal which is located 23 km (14 mi) south of the city centre.^[3] The airport serves as a hub for Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines^[4] and as focus city for Smartavia. It is responsible for serving the citizens of Saint Petersburg and 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. According to provisional figures for 2017, 16,125,520 passengers passed through the airport, a 21.6% increase over 2016. This makes Pulkovo the 4th busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states.^[3] Pulkovo is one of the largest airports in Russia and Eastern Europe.

History

1931–1986

In January 1931, construction of an aerodrome near Leningrad (Saint Petersburg's official name between 1924 and 1991 and the source of the airfield's IATA code of "LED"^[3]) commenced and was completed on 24 June 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 Shosseynaya 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 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 and 1941. The architects of the new three-story terminal were Aleksandr Ivanovich Gegello and N.E. Lansere.

Construction was abruptly put on hold in July 1941, one month after Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR on 22 June 1941. The airport was the front line in the German Siege of Leningrad. There were no flights between 1941 and 1944. The nearby Pulkovo hills were occupied by the Germans and were used by German long-range artillery for daily bombardments of Leningrad. The airport was cleared of the Germans in January 1944, and cargo and mail flights were resumed 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 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 the airport to handle larger aircraft such as Ilyushin-18 and Tupolev-104.^[10] In that same time period, the use of jet engine planes began in Shosseynaya Airport. On 15 March 1959, the USSR-42419 Tu-104 was the first commercial jet airplane to take off from the Shosseynaya Airport.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1960s, modern regional 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 Leningrad airport. On 8 February 1971, Shosseynaya was awarded the Order of the October Revolution.^[11] The airport was renamed Pulkovo Airport on 24 April 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 and 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 by approximately 45% every decade between the 1970-1990s. The old pre-war building of the airport was renamed Pulkovo 2 and the terminal was exploited for international flights only.^[13]

On 11 April 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 reached 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, Grimshaw Architects was announced as the winner of the construction contract. In 2009, the Saint Petersburg Transportation Ministry requested that an operating company for Pulkovo Airport be created, and a consortium known as NCG (Northern Capital Gateway) was set up by Russian VTB Capital Bank, international Fraport AG Company, and the Greek Copelouzos Group. On 29 April 2010, NCG won the tender for a 30-year operating lease over Pulkovo Airport. On 24 November 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony celebrating the beginning of construction on the new 150,000 m² Terminal 1.

From 2020, the number of destinations is expected to increase rapidly, with up to 75% increase in passenger numbers forecast. This follows a five-year test agreement permitting non-Russian airlines to operate flights from multiple European destinations into the airport under an OpenSkies/Seventh-freedom traffic right^[14] The test follows an easing of visa requirements for many European nationals wishing to visit the St Petersburg region designed to increase tourism to the city through the airport.^[15]

On 31 January 2024, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery near St. Petersburg. The Ukrainian drones and Russian air defence missiles fired to stop the attack led to all flights from the Pulkovo airport being suspended between 3:53 a.m. and 5:11 a.m.^[16]

Terminals

Pulkovo 1

This historic terminal, opened in 1973, is 43,000 m² (460,000 sq ft).^[17] It was built for 6,500,000 passengers annually, but by 2008 it surpassed its maximum capacity.^[18] Since its reconstruction was completed in 2014, this terminal is now used for all passenger flights, domestic and international. It has several duty-free shops, restaurants, and six jet bridges. It was reported that when the reconstruction of Pulkovo 1 is completed, Pulkovo Airport's capacity would increase to 17,000,000 passengers annually.

Terminal 1

Construction of Terminal 1 was delayed several times but finally began in 2010.^{[citation needed]} 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 test, 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.^[17] The new terminal contains several business lounges, restaurants, pharmacies. Terminal 1 is 147,000 m² (1,580,000 sq ft) and has 400,000 m² (4,310,000 sq ft) 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 http://line-stargadget.ru/ Archived 2022-08-09 at the Wayback Machine a sense of thriving culture to passengers. Four sculptures from Dmitry Shorin's project named I Believe in Angels decorate the departure hall.^[19][20]

The current Pulkovo-1 terminal includes the new terminal and the old Soviet terminal that was re-constructed and fully converted into the departure area.

Airlines and destinations

Due to the impact on aviation because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, destinations to the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, North America, Australasia, Singapore, Northeast Asia and Taiwan are suspended until further notice.

Statistics

Annual traffic

Route statistics

Investors

Northern Capital Gateway (NCG) began managing the airport in 2009.^[22]

The airport's website lists the companies currently participating alongside NCG:^[22]

"Russian VTB Capital, member of state-owned VTB Group, German Fraport, which manages and operates the airport of Frankfurt and many other international airports, and Horizon Air Investments S.A. member of the Greek Copelouzos Group".

Although not yet listed on the website, the latest investor is Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which now owns a 25% share of the Pulkovo Airport.^[23][24] Sheikh Ahmed Al-Thani, vice chairman of QIA and member of Qatar's ruling Al-Thani family, is now listed as a member of the Board of Directors on the Pulkovo airport's website, along with Arturo Carta of QIA.^[25]

In November 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree temporarily removing foreign investors from managing the airport. They will retain their shares, but the votes will be controlled by two Russian companies - NCG Holding and Advanced Industrial and Infrastructure Technologies-7.^[26]

In 2025, Fraport sold its 25% shareholding to Orbital Aviation.^[27]

Ground transportation

Pulkovo Airport is served by the city buses:

• No.39 and No.39Ex. to the metro station "Moskovskaya" on line M2
• No. 82Ex. to the metro station "Prospekt Veteranov" on line M1

For private car travel, Pulkovo Airport is accessible via the nearby Pulkovo Highway (Pulkovskoe shosse) from Saint Petersburg city center.

Accidents and incidents

• On 27 April 1974, an Ilyushin Il-18V passenger aircraft of Aeroflot flying to Krasnodar crashed right after takeoff from Pulkovo after an engine fire. All 108 passengers and 10 crew members died. It eventually came to be known as the 1974 Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash.
• On 20 October 2025, an Airbus A320 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines skidded off the airport runway while performing an emergency landing shortly after it took off from Pulkovo on its way to Baku due to a landing gear malfunction, resulting in the evacuation of all 155 passengers.^[28]

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Russia
• List of the busiest airports in Europe
• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR

References

1. ^ "Flightradar24 data, Aeroflot routes"
2. ^ "Fraport Traffic Figures December 2022" (PDF; 246 KB). fraport.com. Fraport AG. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
3. ^ "About the Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
4. ^ "About Us – STC Russia". Rossiya Airlines. Archived 2009-06-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
5. ^ "History of Pulkovo Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
6. ^ "Pulkovo Airport – About – History". 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
7. ^ "Pulkovo – About – History – 1930s". 2010. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
8. ^ "History of Pulkovo Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
9. ^ "Pulkovo – About – History – 40s". 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
10. ^ "History of Pulkovo Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
11. ^ "Pulkovo – About – History – 1970s". 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
12. ^ "Pulkovo – About – History – 1970s". 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
13. ^ "History of Pulkovo Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
14. ^ "St Petersburg airport to trial open-skies project". Russian Aviation Insider. 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
15. ^ "The prospect of open skies in St Petersburg sparks excitement around Europe". Eurasia Times. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
16. ^ Kateryna Zakharchenko (31 January 2024). "Kyiv Confirms Drone Attack on St. Petersburg Oil Refinery, Claims UAV Dodged Russia's Best Air Defense". The Kyiv Post.
17. ^ "Information report on final moving of international flights from Pulkovo-2 to the new Terminal-1 of Pulkovo Airport". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
18. ^ "Pulkovo – Airport Indicators". 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
19. ^ "Dmitry Shorin. I Believe in Angels". The Wall Street Journal. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
20. ^ "Pulkovo Airoprt art and architecture projects page". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
21. ^ "Airport Indicators". MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS. Northern Capital Gateway LLC. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
22. ^ "About the Airport". www.pulkovoairport.ru. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
23. ^ "Fraport sells stake in St Petersburg airport to Qatar". Reuters. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
24. ^ "Qatar Investment Authority buys stake in Russian airport". Doha News. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
25. ^ "Board of Directors". www.pulkovoairport.ru. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
26. ^ "Иностранных владельцев Пулково отстранили от управления. Что это значит" (in Russian). RBC. 2023-12-02.
27. ^ Fraport offloads Pulkovo Airport Airliner World February 2025 page 10
28. ^ "Flight Skids Off Runway in St. Petersburg After Emergency Landing". The Moscow Times. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.

External links

• Official site (in English, Russian)
• Accident history for LED at Aviation Safety Network