Chelyabinsk Airport

Chelyabinsk Airport (Balandino) (IATA: CEK, ICAO: USCC) is an airport in Russia located 18 km north of Chelyabinsk. It services large airliners and can park up to 51 aircraft. It also serves as a secondary hub for Ural Airlines and Yamal Airlines.

For the nearby military airport, see Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport.
International Airport Balandino named Igor Kurchatov

Международный аэропорт Баландино имени Игоря Курчатова
Balandino Airport panoramic view
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorNovaport
ServesChelyabinsk
LocationChelyabinsk, Russia
Hub forRed Wings Airlines[1]
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL771 ft / 235 m
Coordinates55°18′18″N 061°30′18″E
Websitecekport.ru
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 10,499 3,200 Concrete
Statistics (2018)
Number of passengers1,640,535
Sources: Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (see also provisional 2018 statistics)[2]

History
Terminal buildings of Chelyabinsk Airport

Passenger flights to Chelyabinsk were served by Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport from 1938 until it was repurposed for military only use.

The current Chelyabinsk airport, initially called Balandino Airport, was opened in late 1953 with a passenger terminal and a dirt runway. The runway was paved in December 1962. A year later, the first jet plane (a Tu-104) arrived at the airport.

A new terminal was built in 1974 which remains in service to this day as one of the terminal buildings. In 1994, the government-owned airport was privatized and started its first international flights.

Passenger traffic reached 1.1 million and declined heavily during the 1990s. In 2013, the airport handled 1.2 million passengers, breaking the Soviet-time record.

The new, longer runway was built in 1999, while the old runway was repurposed as a taxiway. The airport can accept heavy aircraft including the Boeing 747 and the An-225.

New terminal construction and airport expansion

The construction of the new passenger terminal is planned at Chelyabinsk Airport, this is done for BRICS summit in 2020. The project includes the construction of the new terminal, which was scheduled to commence in summer 2018 and finish by December 2019.[3] The complex will be able to handle 2,5 million passengers per annum.[4] The next plan for the airport is to take the third category of ICAO. This category in Russia is owned only by Moscow's Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo Airports and Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg.[5][6][7]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Saint Petersburg, Sochi
Azimuth Mineralnye Vody
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Sharm El Sheikh
IrAero Baku[8]
Nordwind Airlines Makhachkala, Sochi
NordStar Airlines Norilsk, Sochi
Pobeda Antalya, Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Moscow–Vnukovo, Saint Petersburg,[9] Sochi
Red Wings Airlines Almaty, Antalya (begins 3 November 2023),[10] Istanbul-International, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk–International, Makhachkala, Nizhny Novgorod, Norilsk, Novy Urengoy, Volgograd, Yerevan
Rossiya Saint Petersburg
RusLine Naryan-Mar, Saint Petersburg
S7 Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo, Novosibirsk[11]
Smartavia Saint Petersburg, Sochi
Turkish Airlines Antalya
Ural Airlines Dushanbe, Khujand, Moscow–Domodedovo, Osh, Sochi
Utair Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut
Yamal Novy Urengoy

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Grizodubova Air Company Moscow–Vnukovo

Passenger statistics
Chelyabinsk Airport statistics
YearTotal
passengers		ChangeDomesticInternationalAircraft
departures
2000 274 236+0,1% Increase208 91265 3242 656
2001 297 198+8,4% Increase325 07762 1213 205
2002 302 626+1,8% Increase234 49567 7013 152
2003 359 822+18,9% Increase282 18677 6363 439
2004 404 151+12,3% Increase307 23196 9203 550
2005 386 115−4,5% Decrease333 20652 9093 096
2006 432 034+11,9% Increase357 73374 3013 167
2007 675 141+56,3% Increase534 796140 3455 050
2008 685 408+1,5% Increase561 649123 7604 832
2009 581 555−15,2% Decrease477 507104 0483 499
2010 664 184+14,2% Increase510 314153 8704 416
2011 833 780+25,5% Increase594 087239 6935 150
2012 1 000 753+20,0% Increase679 920320 833≈5 800
2013 1 210 388+20,1% Increase799 288339 609≈6 380
2014 1 404 238+16,0% Increase964 887364 075≈7023
2015 1 239 212-11,8% Decrease990 868248 344no data
2021 1 827 951+57,0% Increase1 683 432144 5198 227

Accidents and incidents
  • On 26 January 2008, an S7 Airlines Airbus A319 landed on the taxiway by mistake. There were no injuries or damage.
  • On 26 May 2008, an Antonov An-12 operated by Moskovia Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff when trying an emergency landing. All nine crew members on board died.
  • On 17 July 2015, an An-12BK of the Russian Air Force registered RF-94291 diverted to Chelyabinsk Airport after flying into severe thunderstorm and hail. Three out of four engines failed. The aircraft landed on the grass outside the runway and sustained substantial damage. There were no injuries.[12]

Miscellaneous facts
  • An NDB beacon transmits on 412 kHz.

See also

References
  1. "Направления из Челябинска". flyredwings.com.
  2. "Объемы перевозок через аэропорты России" [Transportation volumes at Russian airports]. www.favt.ru (in Russian). Federal Air Transport Agency. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  3. "Телетрапы, VIP-зона и 2,5 млн пассажиров". znak.com. 13 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  4. "Фасад нового терминала челябинского аэропорта решен в красных тонах". kp.ru. 13 April 2018.
  5. "Аэропорт Челябинск может получить III категорию ИКАО". iz.ru. 24 April 2018.
  6. "Аэропорт "Челябинск" станет престижнее аэропорта Кольцово?". lentachel.ru. 24 April 2018.
  7. "Аэропорт Челябинска после реконструкции обгонит по категории почти все аэровокзалы России". 24 April 2018.
  8. "ИрАеро: Авиакомпания "ИрАэро" запускает новые направления из Баку". iraero.ru (in Russian). «IrAero» Airlines. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  9. Liu, Jim (22 August 2019). "Pobeda expands St. Petersburg network in Sep/Oct 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. "Red Wings Adds Chelyabinsk – Antalya From Nov 2023". AeroRoutes. 15 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  11. "Russia, Chelyabinsk, Balandino (CEK)SwapRussia, Novosibirsk, Tolmachevo (OVB)". S7.ru. S7 Airlines. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  12. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 12BK RF-94291 Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
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