The history of Sheremetyevo Airport began on September 1, 1953, when the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a decree on the construction of the Central Airfield of the Air Force of the Soviet Army of the USSR Armed Forces in the area of ​​the village of Chashnikovo. The airfield was originally named Sheremetyevsky because of the residential village Sheremetyevsky and the Sheremetyevskaya platform of the Savyolovsky direction of the Moscow Railway. On October 5, 1953, the first echelon of military builders arrived at Lobnya station. The construction of the Sheremetyevsky airfield began.

In 1957, the runway, main and connecting taxiways, three aprons with aircraft parking lots, and the building of the Central Control Centre were put into operation at the airport. October 7, 1957 at the airport took place the first landing of aircraft. Eighteen intercontinental strategic bombers Tu-95, participating in the air parade over Red Square in honour of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, landed at Sheremetyevsky. In the same 1957, December 31, at the Sheremetyevsky airfield, military transport aircraft of the 2nd Red Banner Special Purpose Air Force landed, which had been stationed at the Central Aerodrome for 15 years before. M.V. Frunze.

Fateful for the airport became July 1959, when a Tu-104 government plane landed here with the then head of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev, who actually became the initiator of the creation of the Sheremetyevo civil airport. 25-30 people gathered to meet the first person of the Soviet state - members of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, representatives of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Supreme Council of the USSR, military leaders of the Ministry of Defence, and the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet.

According to eyewitnesses, during a state visit to the UK, the Soviet leader was very impressed with Heathrow Airport in London. Immediately upon arrival from the UK, just leaving the plane, Nikita Sergeyevich told his colleagues about England: “There is no such order as ours so that each leader has a separate plane, - he noted. - The capitalists know how to count money. Leaders fly civilian aircraft in first-class cabins, and this does not bother anyone or hurt anyone. We should also think about this. Think about good airports, a good level of service. We will transfer the airfield to GVF. Let the airfield finish. Commander-in-chief should trace this. You should choose a convenient airfield and relocate all military aircraft there. It’s time for us to build such an airport here as Heathrow.”

On July 30, 1959, an acceptance certificate was signed. In this historical document, the military side announced the surrender of the Sheremetyevsky airfield, and the civilian announced its acceptance. In turn, the State Design and Research and Research Institute of GA Aeroproject received the task of creating a new airport project for air transportation and developing priority directions for launching production.

In August 1959, by decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the central airfield of the Sheremetyevsky Air Force ceased to exist. By decision of the government, he was transferred to the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet (Civil Air Fleet). A new airport of the capital was to be deployed at the base of a military airfield. The Air Force Commander and the Chief of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet approved the acceptance certificate. From that day on, the Sheremetyevsky airfield ceased to exist for military pilots as a combat position. It turned into a launching pad for the construction of a new complex of structures for the future Sheremetyevo International Airport on it.

The official opening date of the Sheremetyevo International Airport is August 11, 1959. On this day, the company's services for the first time serviced the Tu-104 aircraft, which delivered passengers to Moscow from Leningrad.

Upon arrival, the Sheremetyevo Airport Services for the first time performed commercial and technical maintenance of the aircraft in accordance with all the rules and regulations of civil aviation. The first terminal at Sheremetyevo Airport was the small building of the Central Control Center, located next to the current Terminal B (formerly Sheremetyevo-1). The first head of the airport was Vasily Alexandrovich Borisov - a famous pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, a participant in the Great Patriotic War.

On March 2, 1960, by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the Air Force Main Aerodrome was transferred to the Main Air Fleet Directorate for the construction of the Sheremetyevo Airport. The leadership of the Main Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet of the USSR approved the master plan for the future development of the airport. In June 1960, the official opening of the airport complex took place.

At the main air gate of the country there are many glorious pages in the annals. For over six decades, Sheremetyevo has been meeting and seeing off leaders of states, polar heroes, Olympic athletes, famous cultural figures and world stars.

Every day, the airport serves more than one hundred and fifty thousand passengers and provides more than a thousand take-off and landing operations. For comparison, in 1960 Sheremetyevo Airport served 270 thousand passengers, and according to forecasts for the anniversary of 2019, the airport will set a new record and will receive more than 50 million passengers.

Sheremetyevo Airport pays special attention to the quality of passenger and airline services, creating and maintaining a technologically advanced comfortable environment, friendly atmosphere and stylish aesthetic space. The results of this work have received wide international recognition from a number of industry institutes and agencies in recent years.

So, in August 2019, the British company Stasher awarded the world championship to the Sheremetyevo International Airport. At the end of 2018, Sheremetyevo was recognised as the best in the category of the largest airports in Europe with a passenger flow of more than 40 million people and entered the top list of the best airports in the world according to the International Council of Airports - ACI Director General’s Roll of Excellence.

In addition, according to the results of 2018, Sheremetyevo was recognised as the most punctual airport in the world in the category of airports with an annual volume of departing passengers from 20 million to 30 million people, according to the OAG rating.

In March 2019, Sheremetyevo Airport was the first of Russia's largest airports to receive the highest international rating of 5 Skytrax stars. High quality passenger service at Sheremetyevo is achieved through the continuous development of infrastructure and the introduction of new services. In the long term, as a result of implementing a long-term development program, which consists in reconstructing existing terminals, building new ones and constructing a third runway, Sheremetyevo will reach a capacity of 100 million passengers annually in 2021, and by 2026 the airport plans to become one of 10 largest air hubs in the world, which will contribute to the most effective implementation of the aviation transit potential of Russia.

On June 5, 2019, official events were held at the Sheremetyevo International Airport dedicated to the assignment of the airport to the name of the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. It is noteworthy that the events were held on the eve of the 220th anniversary of the poet.

Over the past 60 years, the airport has never changed tradition. Achievements of the past Sheremetyevo Airport were continued in the present.

In the era of the USSR, Sheremetyevo became a place where you could buy everything. In 1961, in the building of the Leningradsky Pavilion terminal, the trading floor of the Birch shop was opened - the predecessor of modern duty-free, where goods could be purchased for currency and rubles. A wide selection of predominantly imported goods not available in ordinary stores was presented at Birch. Today, for fans of shopping at the airport, the largest duty-free trade zone in Russia and the travel retail zone are open. Sheremetyevo Duty Free Heinemann offers global brands, the latest collections of world famous brands, including exclusive and niche products.

Sheremetyevo Airport has become the embodiment of new architectural ideals and forms. And now, nowadays, the airport implements various architectural solutions when creating new terminals. As in 1964, when the Sheremetyevo-1 airport complex was opened, which included the landing pavilion, which received the unofficial name of “Shot Glass” and for many years was the architectural dominant and symbol of the airport. Sheremetyevo-1, which has become a kind of monument to the ideals and the embodiment of the modern style of its era, a new Terminal B is currently built and operates on this site, which in its appearance has a reference to the historical “Glass” in the form of a modern boarding pavilion. The architectural solutions and interior design of Terminal B are made in the aesthetics of Russian constructivism and at the same time are aimed at perspective and progress.

In 1967, the Trans-Siberian Airway through Sheremetyevo, equipped with radio facilities, was opened, the shortest route from Europe to China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Nowadays, Sheremetyevo is the largest transcontinental hub at the intersection of Europe and Asia. Sheremetyevo Airport takes the first place in the world in transfer between China and Europe: in 2018, more than 1.2 million passengers made flights with transfers to Sheremetyevo, and the total passenger flow between Sheremetyevo and China exceeded 2.36 million . person. Sheremetyevo is the only European airport serving eight Chinese airlines at once.

In 1980, the airport organised a reception for the participants of the Summer Olympic Games, on the threshold of which a new international airport complex Sheremetyevo-2 with terapraps (now Terminal F) was commissioned. This terminal with numerous cafes and duty-free shops has become the hallmark of the airport, a window into the world for Soviet citizens and a gateway to our country for millions of foreigners.

Today, the past World Cup 2018 opened a new page in the history of the airport. By the beginning of World Cup, a new Terminal B was put into operation for 20 million passengers annually, a unique inter-terminal crossing was opened with automatic trains that transport passengers between remote terminals in just 4 minutes, other facilities that allowed bringing the airport's quality of service, facilities and capacity to a new level .

For the implementation of aviation safety and flight safety, the Sheremetyevo Airport uses the most modern technical means, from inspection equipment to ornithological safety. The airport also houses one of the most modern fuelling complexes in the world.

Sheremetyevo is the largest cargo airport in Russia. 736 tons of cargo of all categories, including bulky, dangerous, lively and valuable, pass through the airport's cargo terminal per day. In 2017, the new Moscow-Cargo cargo terminal was opened, with a throughput capacity of up to 1 million tons per year, equipped with storage and handling systems for any cargo.

To maximize the comfort of passengers, the airport has created not only areas with catering points, shops, recreation areas, but also comfortable waiting areas for flights, lounges for passengers with disabilities and many VIP and business lounges, including the world-renowned business lounge "Rublev”, which is recognised by the architectural community as one of the best in Europe, It is in Rublev that the longest buffet is established among the business halls of the world - its length is 34 meters. This achievement is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

There is also a Business Aviation Centre at Sheremetyevo Airport, which provides a full range of services for business and private flights. A separate “Terminal A” for business aviation passengers, a helipad, parking lots on the apron and in hangars, organisational and air navigation support for flights, and a range of services for ground handling of aircraft.

Each passenger at Sheremetyevo Airport is an important part of it. Understanding this, the airport offers its guests the maximum level of comfort and, together with the air harbour, creates a story that any guest of the airport can get acquainted with when visiting the Museum of the Sheremetyevo Airport.

The editors of the AVIA * RU Network and Aviation EXplorer congratulate the management, all staff and passengers of Sheremetyevo Airport on its 60th anniversary!

Photo by Mikhail Vakhneev and Sheremetyevo Airport press-service