Russia's Extensive Aviation Network: Airports Count And Significance

Russia is a vast transcontinental country with a large number of airports. As of 2018, there were 227 operational airports registered by the Federal Air Transport Agency. However, some sources state that Russia has over 2000 airports, with more than 50 of these being international. The busiest and largest airport in Russia is Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport in Moscow, which serves around 50 million passengers each year.

Russia's busiest airports

Russia is a vast transcontinental country with over 200 airports, including more than 50 international airports. The country's busiest airports are concentrated in and around its capital, Moscow, and its second-largest city, Saint Petersburg.

Sheremetyevo International Airport

Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Russia, serving Moscow. It is also among the top 10 busiest airports in the world, receiving about 50 million passengers annually. The airport has six terminals and is a hub for several airlines, including Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines, Nordwind Airlines, Pegas Fly, and Royal Flight. Sheremetyevo is located in Khimki, about 30 km from Moscow.

Domodedovo International Airport

Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport is the second-busiest airport in Russia and serves Moscow. The airport currently has two terminals, with a third under construction, and handles about 30 million passengers each year. It is a hub for Red Wings Airlines, S7 Airlines, Smartavia, and Ural Airlines. Domodedovo is located about 42 km from Moscow, in the city of the same name.

Vnukovo International Airport

Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport is the third-busiest airport in Russia and the oldest serving Moscow. It has a single terminal and handles more than 20 million passengers annually. Azur Air, Gazpromavia, I-Fly, Pobeda, RusLine, and Utair are among the carriers operating from Vnukovo, which is located about 28 km from downtown Moscow.

Pulkovo Airport

Pulkovo Airport is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. It is among the top five busiest airports in the country, handling nearly 20 million passengers annually. Pulkovo serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines, S7 Airlines, Smartavia, Ural Airlines, and Wizz Air. The airport is located about 23 km from Saint Petersburg.

Sochi Airport

Sochi Airport is an international airport serving Sochi, Russia's largest resort city. With a single terminal, the airport handles around six million passengers per year, with most flights being domestic. Sochi Airport is located in the Adler District, about 28 km from Sochi's downtown.

Other Busy Russian Airports

Other busy airports in Russia include Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport, Yekaterinburg Airport, Krasnodar Airport, Ufa Airport, Kazan Airport, and Vladivostok International Airport. These airports handle between three and seven million passengers annually.

Russia's biggest airports

Russia is a transcontinental country with more than 200 airports, over 50 of which are international. Here is a detailed overview of some of Russia's biggest airports:

Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO)

Sheremetyevo Airport, located in Moscow, is Russia's largest and busiest airport, serving as a hub for several airlines, including Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline, for which it serves as its headquarters. The airport has six terminals, divided into two main areas: the northern area with Terminals A, B, and C, and the southern area with Terminals D, E, and F. It is among the top 10 busiest airports in the world, receiving about 50 million passengers annually.

Domodedovo International Airport (DME)

Domodedovo Airport is the second-biggest airport in Russia and is located in the city of Domodedovo, Moscow Oblast. It serves as a hub for Red Wings Airlines, S7 Airlines, and Ural Airlines. The airport has two terminals, with a third under construction, and handles approximately 30 million passengers each year.

Vnukovo International Airport (VKO)

Vnukovo International Airport is the third-busiest airport in Russia and is situated in Moscow's Vnukovo District. It has a single terminal and serves over 20 million passengers annually. Several carriers operate from this airport, including Azur Air, Gazpromavia, Pobeda, and Utair.

Pulkovo Airport (LED)

Pulkovo Airport is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. It is among the top 5 busiest airports in Russia, handling nearly 20 million passengers annually. It serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, and Wizz Air, among others.

Sochi International Airport (AER)

Sochi Airport is an international airport located on the Black Sea coast in the Adler District of the resort city of Sochi. With a single terminal, it handles around 6 million passengers per year, with most flights being domestic.

Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (OVB)

Novosibirsk Airport is an international airport serving Novosibirsk, Russia's third-most populous city. The airport has one terminal and serves over 6 million passengers annually. It serves as a hub for Angara Airlines, Nordstar, and S7 Airlines.

Other Notable Airports

• Yekaterinburg Airport (SVX)
• Krasnodar Airport (KRR)
• Ufa International Airport (UFA)
• Kazan International Airport (KZN)
• Vladivostok International Airport

International airports in Russia

Russia has 139 airports in total, including 16 large airports, 187 medium airports, and about 234 small airports. The country's capital, Moscow, has four airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky. Most international flights to Russia arrive at one of Moscow's three main airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo.

The largest airports in Russia that receive international flights include:

• Sheremetyevo International Airport (Moscow, VKO, UUWW)
• Domodedovo International Airport (Moscow, DME, UUDD)
• Vnukovo International Airport (Moscow, SVO, UUEE)
• Pulkovo International Airport (St. Petersburg, LED, ULLI)
• Koltsovo International Airport (Yekaterinburg, SVX, USSS)
• Tolmachevo International Airport (Novosibirsk, OVB, UNNT)
• Yemelyanovo International Airport (Krasnoyarsk, KJA, UNKL)
• Novy International Airport (Khabarovsk, KHV, UHHH)
• Pashkovsky International Airport (Krasnodar, KRR, URKK)
• Ufa International Airport (Ufa, UFA, UWUU)
• Sochi International Airport (Sochi, AER, URSS)

Other international airports in Russia include:

• Kazan International Airport
• Khabarovsk-Novy Airport
• Kurumoch International Airport
• Platov International Airport
• Sochi International Airport
• Ufa International Airport
• Vnukovo International Airport
• Zhukovsky International Airport
• Belgorod International Airport
• Perm International Airport
• Magnitogorsk International Airport
• Nizhny Novgorod Strigino International Airport
• Volgograd International Airport
• Voronezh International Airport

Domestic airports in Russia

Russia is a transcontinental country with more than 200 airports, including more than 50 international airports. As of September 2018, Russia had 227 operational airports registered by the Federal Air Transport Agency. Many of these airports offer both domestic and international flights.

Moscow Airports

The largest and busiest airports in Russia serve the capital city of Moscow. These include:

• Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport: The busiest and largest airport in Russia, with four terminals and about 50 million passengers annually.
• Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport: The second-biggest airport in Russia, with two terminals (expanding to three) and about 30 million passengers annually.
• Vnukovo Andrei Tupolev International Airport: The third-busiest airport in Russia, with a single terminal and more than 20 million passengers annually.
• Zhukovsky International Airport: One of the airports serving Moscow, with about 1 million passengers annually.

Saint Petersburg Airports

The second-largest city in Russia, Saint Petersburg, is served by Pulkovo Airport, which is among the top five busiest airports in Russia, with almost 20 million passengers handled each year.

Other Domestic Airports in Russia

• Sochi International Airport: An international airport serving Sochi, the largest resort city in Russia, with a single terminal and about 6 million passengers annually.
• Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport: An international airport serving Novosibirsk, the third-most populous city in Russia, with one terminal and over 6 million passengers annually.
• Koltsovo International Airport: Serving the city of Yekaterinburg, with about 6 million passengers annually.
• Krasnodar International Airport: Also known as Pashkovsky Airport, serving the city of Krasnodar, with about 4 million passengers annually.
• Ufa International Airport: Serving Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, with about 3 million passengers annually.
• Kazan International Airport: The largest airport in Tatarstan, serving the city of Kazan, with about 3 million passengers annually.
• Vladivostok International Airport: A major international airport at Artyom in Primorsky Krai, with two passenger terminals and about 2.5 million passengers in 2023.
• Rostov on Don Airport: Also called Platov Airport, with about 3 million passengers annually.
• Samara Kurumoch Airport: Also called Kurumoch Airport, with about 3 million passengers annually.
• Mineralnye Vody Airport: With about 2.5 million passengers annually.
• Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo Airport: With about 2.5 million passengers annually.
• Irkutsk International Airport: With about 2.4 million passengers annually.
• Kaliningrad Khrabrovo Airport: With about 2 million passengers annually.
• Khabarovsk Novy Airport: With about 2 million passengers annually.
• Tyumen Roshchino Airport: With about 2 million passengers annually.
• Surgut Airport: With about 1.8 million passengers annually.
• Chelyabinsk Airport: With about 1.7 million passengers annually.
• Perm Bolshoye Savino Airport: With about 1.5 million passengers annually.
• Anapa Vityazevo Airport: With about 1.5 million passengers annually.
• Makhachkala Uytash Airport: With about 1.5 million passengers annually.
• Omsk Tsentralny Airport: With about 1.3 million passengers annually.
• Zhukovsky Airport: One of the airports serving Moscow, with about 1 million passengers annually.
• Volgograd Airport: With about 1 million passengers annually.
• Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Khomutovo Airport: With about 1 million passengers annually.
• Nizhny Novgorod Strigino Airport: With about 1 million passengers annually.
• Murmansk Emperor Nicholas II Murmansk Airport: With about 1 million passengers annually.

There are also numerous other domestic airports in Russia with fewer than 1 million passengers annually, such as Novy Urengoy Airport, Yakutsk Platon Oyunsky Yakutsk International Airport, Arkhangelsk Talagi Airport, Voronezh Chertovitskoye Airport, Orenburg Airport, and many more.

Military airports in Russia

Russia has over 200 airports, including more than 50 international airports. The country's largest and busiest airports are located in its capital, Moscow. These include Sheremetyevo Airport, Domodedovo Airport, and Vnukovo Airport.

Russia also has several military airports and airbases. These are used by the Russian Aerospace Forces, Russian Naval Aviation, National Guard of Russia, and aircraft repair depots.

• Chkalovsky Air Base
• Ivanovo Severny Air Base
• Dolinsk-Sokol Air Base
• Levashovo Air Base
• Borisovsky Khotilovo Air Base
• Taganrog-Central Air Base
• Chita Northwest Air Base
• Provideniya Bay Airport
• Kapustin Yar Air Base
• Princess Olga Pskov International Airport
• Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Naval Aviation Air Base
• Khabarovsk Tsentralny
• Olenya Olenegorsk/Vysokiy
• Tolmachevo/Novosibirsk
• Uglovoye/Tsentralnaya
• Vozdvizhenka/Ussuriysk
• Zhukovsky – Gagarin Air Force Academy
• Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots
• Rogachevo Air Base
• Bezrechnaya-2 Air Base
• Borisoglebsk Air Base
• Budyonnovsk Air Base
• Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport
• Komi Republic

Some of these military airports and airbases are part of the main air armies in Russia, including the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, and the 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army.

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