Baikal International Airport
History
1925–1971
In 1925, the airport began its first passenger service with the first aircraft traveling from Moscow to Beijing, with pilots Volkovoyinov and Polyakov participating in it. On 1 August 1926, the first flights started: Ulan-Ude – Ulan-Bator; in addition, the airport was a place for technical landing for flights from Irkutsk, Chita, Moscow, and Vladivostok. In 1931, the construction of the first air terminal began, where in 1935, the construction finished. From 1966, the airport began to accept Antonov An-24 and Tupolev Tu-104 aircraft.
1971–1991
In 1971, a new runway was constructed which optimized the airport to accept larger aircraft like the Ilyushin Il-18 from Moscow, where from 1980 to 1981, the runway was expanded by 800 metres, and it opened by accepting the first Tupolev Tu-154. In 1983, the first terminal stopped operating due to the opening of a new one. From September to October 1983, the airport was accepting transit flights from and to Chita, due to its closing, because of the runway re-construction. In 1988 and 1989, the airport started to serve a number of transit flights, including the international (Moscow – Pyongyang, including Air Koryo; Moscow – Ulan-Bator), shifted from Irkutsk, due to runway re-construction. That situation led to a huge optimization of the airport, where every day the airport accepted 70 flights, which 30 of them were served by Tupolev Tu-154. In 1990, the airport transferred 800,000 passengers in a year.
1991–2006
Until 2011, the airport was serving flights from Irkutsk and Chita when these airports had issues with construction or weather. There were no international flights until 2011.
2006–2011
In 2006, the airport underwent an overhaul of its runway, costing RUR 330 million (US$10 million). In 2007, the airport underwent renovations of its taxiways and parking areas, at a cost of RUR 230 million.
2011–2017
In March 2011, the renovation of the external terminal complex began, after when Metropol bought the airport. The reconstruction finished in August 2011. Till now in the airport are in process small reconstructions inside the terminal complex. The last renovation was expanding the second floor and making it a boarding zone, in addition the zone of check-up and passport check moved to the second floor. Also, the arrival and departure exits and entrances are now in different locations.
2017-today
In September 2014, the government of Russian Federation, which owns the airport infrastructure, announced plans to build a new runway, with a cost of $157 million, parallel to the current. The latter will become a taxiway.
The runway commenced its service at night of 12 December 2018, with a flight of S7 Airlines to Beijing.
In September 2017, the airport was sold by Metropol to Novaport. Novaport allowed the airport to get the status of open sky, moreover, the airport will allow more ambitious plans, like construction of a new passenger terminal. Currently, due to unlimited status of open sky, international airlines such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, Lucky Air, MIAT Mongolian Airlines and Spring Airlines are interested in starting flights to Ulan Ude. Moreover, Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot, announced that it will resume the flights to Ulan-Ude in 2018 or 2019, the plans are delaying due to FIFA-2018, also the airline explained the reason of exiting from this route, by low-quality runway.
On 7 December 2017, the Buryatia governor Alexey Tsydenov announced that by the end of 2018, the construction of the new terminal will commence. The land for construction is being found, currently, the project is being created, therefore, the final amount will be calculated for the construction financing. The first stage will be the full reconstruction of the current terminal, and then by 2022, the new terminal will be constructed. Construction of the new terminal began on 28 April 2018, and is about to finish in 2023.
On November 21, 2024, the airport started operations in the new terminal building. Designed to handle domestic flights, the terminal spans over 6,500 square meters, significantly boosting the airport’s capacity and efficiency. Features include two jet bridges for enhanced passenger convenience. The construction, costing over 37 million USD, aimed to modernize infrastructure and support growing tourism in the region.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Moscow–Sheremetyevo (resumes 28 December 2024) |
| Angara Airlines | Nizhneangarsk, Taksimo |
| Aurora | Khabarovsk, Vladivostok |
| IrAero | Irkutsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| KrasAvia | Kyzyl |
| Nordwind Airlines | Kazan |
| Red Wings Airlines | Tomsk |
| Rossiya Airlines | Krasnoyarsk-International, Vladivostok |
| S7 Airlines | Irkutsk, Moscow–Domodedovo, Novosibirsk |
| Smartavia | Moscow–Sheremetyevo |
| Yakutia | Khabarovsk |
Annual passenger traffic
| Year | Passengers | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 167,126 
|
 | |
| 2011 | 187,770
|
+12,4 | |
| 2012 | 267,502
|
+42,5 | |
| 2013 | 300,654
|
+12,4 | |
| 2014 | 312,794
|
+4,04 | |
| 2016 | 242,955 
|
−22,3 | |
| 2017 | 269,700
|
+11,0 | |
| 2018 | 376,774
|
+39,7 | |
| 2019 | 478,448
|
+27 | |
| 2020 | 340,997
|
−28.7 |
Busiest routes
| Rank | City | Region | Country | Airports | Airlines | Number of passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moscow |  Moscow /  Moscow Oblast
|
 Russia
|
Domodedovo & Vnukovo Airports | Globus Airlines, Pobeda, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines | 223,713 |
| 2 | Irkutsk |  Irkutsk Oblast
|
Russia
|
International Airport Irkutsk | Angara Airlines, IrAero, RusLine | 32,765 |
| 3 | Novosibirsk |  Novosibirsk Oblast
|
Russia
|
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport | IrAero, S7 Airlines | 26,532 |
| 4 | Beijing |  People's Republic of China
|
Beijing Capital International Airport | S7 Airlines | 15,316 | |
| 5 | Khabarovsk |  Khabarovsk Krai
|
Russia
|
Khabarovsk Novy Airport | IrAero, Yakutia Airlines | 12,797 |
| 6 | Yakutsk |  Republic of Yakutia
|
Russia
|
Yakutsk Airport | Yakutia Airlines | 10,708 |
References
- ^ ""Новапорт" купил аэропорт Улан-Удэ". ato.ru. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Авиакомпания "Ангара" начала выполнять рейсы на север Бурятии". airportbaikal.ru. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Airport information for UIUU". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF. - ^ Airport information for UUD at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ Lake Baikal Airport Archived 10 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine, official site
- ^ ru:Байкал (аэропорт)
- ^ "История". Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ "Первый самолет взлетел с новой полосы в аэропорту Улан-Удэ". arigus.ru. 12 December 2018.
- ^ "НОВЫЙ ВЛАДЕЛЕЦ АЭРОПОРТА УЛАН-УДЭ РАССКАЗАЛ О СВОИХ ПЛАНАХ". aviaport. 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Режим открытого неба в Улан-Удэ сделали бессрочным". ato.ru. 2 November 2017.
- ^ ""Аэрофлот" намерен возобновить полёты из Москвы в аэропорт "Байкал". Но не скоро". blogrb.ru. 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Новый терминал в аэропорту Улан-Удэ начнут строить в 2018 году". tass.ru. 7 December 2017.
- ^ "В аэропорту Улан-Удэ построят новый терминал в 2018 году". irk.ru. 8 December 2017.
- ^ "Директор аэропорта "Байкал" рассказал, куда чаще всего улетают жители республики". Номер один. 22 January 2022.
- ^ Liu, Jim (21 December 2024). "Aeroflot late-Dec 2024 Domestic Network Additions". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ "Авиакомпания "Ангара" начала выполнять рейсы на север Бурятии". airportbaikal.ru. 22 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Жители Бурятии смогут летать из Улан-Удэ во Владивосток за 5700 рублей". InformPolis. 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Аэропорт Улан-Удэ раздал шуточные номинации авиакомпаниям". BaikalDaily. 12 January 2020.
- ^ "Международный аэропорт «Байкал» подвел итоги работы за 2020 год". Airport Baikal. 15 January 2021.
- ^ "Аэропорт Чита подвел итоги 2016 года". Baikal-Daily. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
External links
Media related to Baikal International Airport at Wikimedia Commons