Chelyabinsk Airport (Balandino) (IATA: CEK, ICAO: USCC) is an international 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.

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 / 55.30500°N 61.50500°E / 55.30500; 61.50500
Websitecekport.ru
Map
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

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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

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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

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Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Azimuth Mineralnye Vody
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Phuket[8]
Ikar Sochi
Nordwind Airlines Saint Petersburg, Sochi
NordStar Airlines Norilsk
Pobeda Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Moscow–Vnukovo, Saint Petersburg,[9] Sochi
Red Wings Airlines Kazan, Makhachkala,[10] Minsk, Nizhnevartovsk,[11] Norilsk, Samara,[11] Volgograd, Yerevan
Rossiya Krasnoyarsk-International, Saint Petersburg
S7 Airlines Novosibirsk[12]
Smartavia Kaliningrad,[13] Saint Petersburg, Sochi
Ural Airlines Dushanbe, Khujand, Moscow–Domodedovo,[14] Osh, Sochi, Yekaterinburg (begins 1 January 2025)
Utair Surgut

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Grizodubova Air Company Moscow–Vnukovo

Passenger statistics

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Chelyabinsk Airport statistics
Year Total
passengers
Change Domestic International Aircraft
departures
2000 274 236 +0,1%   208 912 65 324 2 656
2001 297 198 +8,4%   325 077 62 121 3 205
2002 302 626 +1,8%   234 495 67 701 3 152
2003 359 822 +18,9%   282 186 77 636 3 439
2004 404 151 +12,3%   307 231 96 920 3 550
2005 386 115 −4,5%   333 206 52 909 3 096
2006 432 034 +11,9%   357 733 74 301 3 167
2007 675 141 +56,3%   534 796 140 345 5 050
2008 685 408 +1,5%   561 649 123 760 4 832
2009 581 555 −15,2%   477 507 104 048 3 499
2010 664 184 +14,2%   510 314 153 870 4 416
2011 833 780 +25,5%   594 087 239 693 5 150
2012 1 000 753 +20,0%   679 920 320 833 ≈5 800
2013 1 210 388 +20,1%   799 288 339 609 ≈6 380
2014 1 404 238 +16,0%   964 887 364 075 ≈7023
2015 1 239 212 -11,8%   990 868 248 344 no data
2021 1 827 951 +57,0%   1 683 432 144 519 8 227

Accidents and incidents

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  • 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.[15]

Miscellaneous facts

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  • An NDB beacon transmits on 412 kHz.

See also

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References

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  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. ^ "AZUR air ударит по Юго-Восточной Азии — FrequentFlyers.ru" (in Russian). FrequentFlyers.ru. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  9. ^ Liu, Jim (22 August 2019). "Pobeda expands St. Petersburg network in Sep/Oct 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Рейсы из аэропорта Челябинск в Махачкалу". cekport.ru. Международный аэропорт Челябинск. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b Яковлева, Алина (8 December 2023). "Из Челябинска возобновят авиарейсы в Самару и Нижневартовск". ura.news (in Russian). Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Russia, Chelyabinsk, Balandino (CEK)SwapRussia, Novosibirsk, Tolmachevo (OVB)". S7.ru. S7 Airlines. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  13. ^ Рябинина, Нина. "Между Челябинском и Калининградом возобновляется авиасообщение". www.up74.ru. Южноуральская панорама Онлайн. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  14. ^ Гуляев, Александр (4 October 2024). "Дополнительные авиарейсы запустят между Челябинском и Москвой - УралПолит.Ru". uralpolit.ru. Информационное агентство «Экспертный информационный канал «УралПолит.Ru». Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  15. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 12BK RF-94291 Chelyabinsk Airport (CEK)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
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