Yakutsk International Airport

Yakutsk International Airport is the only major national airport located in the permafrost zone.

It is located in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), an area famous for its diamonds, gold, furs and rich natural deposits, and which is known as the so-called 'cold pole'. It was here that, in 1885, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere was registered: minus 67.8 ºC. The area has an extreme continental climate with a wide temperature range. The burning heat of the summer is hot enough to melt asphalt, while in the winter it is so cold that lakes and rivers freeze to their bottom. Everything here, airports, roads, buildings, has to be built in a special way.

And because of these extremes of climate, the only mode of transport that is available to the inhabitants of Yakutia year-round is air transport. The importance of aviation and airports in our republic is obvious.

Construction of an aerodrome in Yakutsk first started in 1931. During the Second World War, Yakutsk airport was used as an intermediate stopover point between Alaska and the front line for the military aircraft on the lend-lease program.

Situated in the heart of the republic, Yakutsk airport is a major transport hub for Siberia and the Far East which provides all the usual services for handling aircraft, passengers and freight. It can accept all types of aircraft, regardless of maximum takeoff weight, and meets the requirements of ICAO category one.

A new international passenger terminal was opened in 1996. It can handle up to 700 passengers an hour and there are direct international flights. There are Immigration, Customs and Quarantine which work checking travel documents and passengers, and X-raying luggage and cargo. There is a VIP area adjoining the main terminal building.

General Director, Andrei Arkadievich Illarionov

On October 27, 1997, the enterprise known as 'Yakutsk Airport' was separated from the former Yakutsk Joint Air Company. This enterprise is headed by its General Director, Andrei Arkadievich Illarionov.

Yakutsk Airport is a young and dynamically developing enterprise. Yakutsk Airport State Enterprise has 17 subdivisions, the main activities of which are to handle aircraft and passengers, to process cargo and post, and to maintain all the surfaces and the lighting equipment along the runways. The flight security and emergency rescue services at the airport ensure the safety of our passengers and flight crew, guard the airport buildings, and perform any emergency rescue operations. The enterprise also includes the Regional search and rescue base, which is responsible for search and rescue operations after aircraft accidents within a radius of 500 km.

There are guarded parking spaces and ground service available for all aircraft flying to or from Yakutsk airport.

Cargo carriers play an important role in supplying food and consumer goods to the inhabitants of Yakutia. As well as heated and refrigerated warehouses, Yakutsk airport also has a bonded warehouse.

Passengers have access to a wide range of airport and hotel services.

From 1991 onwards, the yearly volume of work at the airport decreased as a result of the continuing economic crisis in Russia. By 1998, the airport was in a critical condition.

However, there has been steady growth over the last four years and significant improvements in the economic indicators. Since 1999, we have been upgrading Runway-2. This has involved constructing a system for draining water from the airport, replacing the paved surface, and laying a protective layer with the application of German technology. The work has been carried out by ZAO 'Aerotekhnichesky Tsentr' (Saint Petersburg). For the first time in Russia, we have been able to renovate a runway without having to close the airport to flights. We achieved this by working at night and between flights.

We have purchased special equipment for aircraft ground service: a GPU, two aircraft cleaning machines, two sets of passenger steps, two luggage machines and an autograder.

Five regional airlines are based at the airport, and a further seven companies fly regularly from other regions.

The success of any airport also depends on those supplying in-flight meals, fuel, etc. The following subsidiaries, which were set up in order to improve the services offered by the airport, are developing successfully:

• 'Aeroport-servis', a ticketing agency mainly involved with booking and selling air tickets, and with cargo logistics;
• 'AeroportGSMservis', a refuelling company that supplies aircraft fuel to the airline companies that use Yakutsk airport;
• 'Aerotorgservis', which provides catering for passengers both in the airport and in the air;
• 'Yakutskiye Avialinii' airline, which operates scheduled and charter flights within Yakutia, as well as long-haul and international flights. The company has a fleet of AN-24s and Tu-154s.

The airport works in close co-operation with these companies. Their creation has contributed to an improvement in aircraft handling.

Five years is not long, but in that time the enterprise has developed its own image, and occupied a niche in the air traffic market, both in the republic and beyond.

Some of the world's leading airlines (including United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, as well as UPS) have shown an interest in Yakutsk airport.

Two years ago scheduled flights began between the USA (Chicago and Detroit) and South-east Asia using the Polar-3 and Polar-4 trans-polar air corridors via the Arctic Ocean. By flying via our republic, air companies can save up to 30 million dollars on the cost of each route as a result of shortening the flight. Between August 2000 and February 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing carried out rigorous tests at Yakutsk airport in order to determine whether it would be possible to use the airport for an emergency landing. The commission decided that Yakutsk airport meets the standards required of an airport for emergency landings.

As a result, a delegation from the European Union and Airbus Industrie also decided to investigate Yakutsk airport as an emergency option.

In 2001, the airport's director took part in 'ROUTES', the annual international forum for airlines and airports of the world, in Dublin.

The airport is concentrating on business management and outstanding service quality, switching to state of the art customer service technology and ensuring the economic sustainability of the enterprise. Social issues and staff training are particularly important to us.

One of our most important tasks is to improve our financial figures, decreasing outlay and achieving profitability.

Analysts estimate that passenger numbers will double in the next ten years, and cargo volume even sooner, but that airport capacity will not be able to meet these demands.

Therefore, the general plan for developing Yakutsk airport includes constructing a new terminal with an arrivals hall for passengers, equipping the existing building with telescopic walkways, extending and reinforcing the tarmac, renovating and increasing the number of aircraft parking spaces, constructing a high-speed taxi track, and replacing and renewing the specialised transport.

The airport also pays great attention to safety and security. Approximately 90% of the security staff are new.

We plan to buy state of the art facilities to improve safety and security at the airport.

The new terminal will contain an arrivals hall, international and VIP areas and airline offices. The airport will be able to handle 900 domestic and 200 international passengers per hour.

Yakutia is also an ideal place in which to test the cold-resistant properties of materials and equipment. The first Euro-Asian symposium on the problems of material and equipment reliability in cold-climate areas opened in Yakutsk on July 23, 2002. Yakutsk airport has, on a number of occasions, been used as a testing ground for aircraft and aircraft maintenance in cold conditions.

Tests have been carried out on the following aircraft: Boeing 757, A340, Il-96, Tu-204 and Tu-214. Aeroflot-operated A310s have flown scheduled long-haul flights to Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok. Yakutsk airport is pleased to be able to provide the opportunity to test new aircraft.

In May and June 2002 the leaders of Yakutia and the Russian Ministry of Transport signed agreements laying down the foundations for their joint work to ensure the safe functioning and ongoing development of transport in the republic. The parties decided that Yakutsk airport should become the main regional transport hub for the subsequent development of the network of long-haul and transit flights.

General Airport Characteristics:

International Airport 'Yakutsk'