Opened in late May 2016, the Zhukovsky International Airportwas left without passenger flights until at least the end of October 2016. According to Gazeta.ru, SCAT Airlines,Kazakhstan, and Air Kyrgyzstan, which agreed to fly to the fourth airport near Moscow,Russia, faced with a tightening of bureaucratic procedures. Earlier, it was stated that the first passenger flight would land in Zhukovsky on June 20th.
Kyrgyz airline Air Kyrgyzstanand Kazakh SCAT Airlines will not carry out their passenger flights to Zhukovsky airport before the end of the spring-summer flight schedule. They were the only passenger airlines that reached an agreement with the new airport, as regards flight operations.
Both air carriers preferred to fly to Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport in the current spring-summer season.
Currently, Air Kyrgyzstan does not operate its flights from Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan, toMoscow. The first next flight en route Bishkek – Moscow will be operated by AirKyrgyzstanon August 9, 2016, and the plane will land at Moscow’s Domodedovo. There will be no any flights en route Osh – Moscow this summer season, the Air Company’s representative office informed Gazeta.ru. By the end of the spring-summer season (the end of October), the Air Kyrgyzstan’s flight schedule has no any flights to Zhukovsky InternationalAirport.
The SCAT Airlines’ flight schedule also has no any flight to Zhukovsky until the end of October 2016. The flight schedule for the autumn-winter period has not yet been published.
Lack of passenger flights to Zhukovsky is due to the fact that the Russian Ministry of Transport awarded the status of a regional airport to Zhukovsky rather than the one belonged to Moscow, as ones at Sheremetievo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo, Zhukovsky explained Gazeta.ru.
“In connection with the change in the status, airlines are now required to undergo a series of additional procedures, so the pre-flight date had to be postponed”, a Spokesperson of theZhukovsky Airport said.
This fact was also confirmed by Joldosh Bekturganov, Chairperson, Air Kyrgyzstan. “Since this is not a Moscowairport, it is necessary to carry out an agreement between the aeronautical authorities of the two countries to conclude an intergovernmental agreement. In addition, an intra Kyrgyz tender for flights to Zhukovsky will be held. In total, it will take about two months”, Mr. Bekturganov noted in his conversation with Gazeta.Ru.
He added that the flight schedule until the end of October has already been formed and the airline will not carry out its flights to Zhukovsky in the current season.
“We have plans to fly there, the negotiations are underway, but before we start flying, we need to carry out a joint advertising campaign to explain to passengers how to get toMoscowfrom the airport”, Mr. Bekturganov said.
SCAT Airlines was not able to provide with quick comments, adding that one has scheduled a meeting to be held on July 21, 2016, to discuss a question of possible flights to Zhukovsky.
Earlier, Rostec, which owns 25% of the Ramport Aero Company, the airport operator, said that Air Kyrgyzstan would operate eight flights a week to Bishkek and Osh, and SCAT - 12 weekly flights to Shymkent, Aktobe, Aktau and Astana.
The first passenger flight was scheduled for June 20, 2016, and Air Kyrgyzstanwas supposed to operate it but it did not take place.
Later, Ramport Aero reported on the possible opening of flights to Kazakhstanin July, but in July, Zhukovsky did not take any passenger aircraft.
The first phase of construction of the Zhukovsky International Airport was completed this year. One built a passenger terminal having an area of 17,000 sq. m. with a carrying capacity of up to two million people a year. Investors have invested about RUR 1.8billion in the airport.
The Zhukovsky International Airportis operated by Ramport Aero, created in 2014 after the competition to select an investor. 75% + 1 share of this company are owned by Avia Solutions, Lithuania, 25% - by the Russia Transport and Exhibition Center, a structure of Rostec.
Official opening ceremony of the Zhukovsky International Airport was to be held in mid-March, but then it was postponed to May 30th. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, as well as representatives of Rostec - Victor Chemezov, President of the state corporation, and his deputy Dmitry Shugaev. On the same day, an agreement was signed with two Russian cargo airlines, Sky Airlines Gates and Aviastar-TU.
Ural Airlines, Russia, also considered a possibility to fly from Zhukovsky, but an Inter-Ministerial Commission under the Ministry of Transport refused to grant allowances for regular flights from Zhukovsky to the cities in Kyrgyzstanand Tajikistan (Osh, Bishkek,Dushanbeand Khujand). The Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) did not specify the reason for refusal.
“Potentially, the status of a regional airport allows airlines to bypass the intergovernmental agreement, which fixes the exact number of flights for a specific airline on the route fromMoscow. This airport can attract new air carriers”, said Andrey Kramarenko, expert of the Aviation Higher School of Economics. According to him, Moscow is the final destination for passengers of Central Asian airlines. Remoteness of the Zhukovsky airport from Moscow, as well as its lack of accessibility should not scare away customers of these airlines when choosing the airport, he said.
Experts called undeveloped infrastructure around the airport to be the main factor limiting the development of the airport in Zhukovsky, in addition to the general excess of terminal facilities in Moscow, as it is inferior to the transport accessibility of the other three airports of the Moscow air hub. To get to Zhukovsky, passengers must first use the train and go to the Recreation railway station and thence, go by special buses to the airport. During the opening ceremony, Andrei Vorobiev, Governor of the Moscow Region, promised they would launch express trains such as “Sputnik” from the Kazan railway station in the autumn of 2016, which will go more frequently.
If one compares the highways leading to other Moscow airports then the one to Zhukovsky is undeveloped but it is proposed to get to Zhukovsky from Moscow. In many areas, the Novoryazanskoe highway is under renovation now and both Bykovsky and Zhukovskoe two-lane highways are not the best quality, and they have only a few pointers to the airport.
