On this flight, among the guests of honour, the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Renova group of companies Viktor Vekselberg, the general director of Airports of the Regions Evgeny Chudnovsky, the Russian pilot-cosmonaut Hero of Russia arrived in Saratov , the first cosmonaut of the space forces of the Russian Federation, Yuri Shargin, and the cosmonaut - test pilot of the cosmonaut Roscosmos Sergey Prokopiev. Also on board were the leaders of major Russian airlines, representatives of federal and industry media. After inspecting the passenger terminal of the airport, a meeting was held in one of the airport halls on the readiness of Gagarin Airport to transfer airlines from the old city airport to it, receive flights and serve passengers.

“The construction of a new airfield complex consisted of 4 parts. The first two parts are the construction of the infrastructure necessary to put into operation the airfield complex and the airport terminal, so that we can begin serving passengers, providing takeoffs, and landing aircraft. The first 2 phases of construction consisted of the construction of a new runway with a length of 3 km and a width of 45 meters, equipped with landing systems, taxiways, aprons, and corresponding lighting systems according to category I of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. They are completed. The conclusion on compliance from Rostekhnadzor was received. It remains for us to complete next year the construction and equipping of the administrative building of the State ATM Corporation. Next year, it will also be necessary to equip the airfield to category II of ICAO landing systems. Thus, at the moment, the main work has been completed, the airfield is ready for work, ”- said Alexander Neradko.

In confirmation of his words, the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency handed the aviation safety certificate to the head of the Airport of Regions management company, Evgeny Chudnovsky. A document issued this week by the Transportation Security Administration of the Federal Air Transport Agency confirms that the airport’s air safety measures comply with federal regulations.

The construction and arrangement of the new Saratov airport was implemented on the basis of a public-private partnership with the airport of the regions in the framework of the State Program “Development of the transport system”. Thus, Gagarin International Airport (Saratov) became the second largest airport in the modern history of Russia built from scratch. The first was the new Rostov-on-Don Platov airport, also built with the “Airports of the Regions” and opened in 2017. We are talking about the construction at a new location of a full range of airport infrastructure facilities, which is necessary to ensure the take-off / landing of aircraft and their ground handling, passenger, baggage, cargo and mail services.

On the one hand, the Gagarin Airport construction project envisaged the construction of a full complex of airfield facilities using the federal budget, including an artificial runway with dimensions of 3000x45 meters, two taxiways and an apron for aircraft parking. The volume of federal budget funds amounted to 7.22 billion rubles. For its part, the created private investor SarAero-Invest JSC (part of the “Airports of the Regions” holding) ensured the construction of the passenger terminal and office buildings. The volume of private investment amounted to 8.2 billion rubles.

Especially for the management of the airport, a new operator of the civil aviation airport was created, which purchased all the equipment necessary for organising the work, formed the staff of the enterprise, and also conducted training and internships. The total number of employees is more than 700 people, and equipment and special vehicles - more than 130 units.

“The new Saratov airport “Gagarin” speaks of the success of this form of interaction between our company, federal authorities, and the region. More than 40 thousand square meters of a new, modern terminal is our desire to create an object that is as comfortable as possible for passengers. The company's investments amounted to about 8 billion rubles, and here, in the Saratov region, good conditions were created for our work, which allowed us to implement this project,”- said Viktor Vekselberg.

The commissioning of the new Gagarin Airport will create conditions for attracting new carriers to Saratov, expand the route network, including through international destinations. The runway of the new Gagarin Airport, 3000 meters long, is capable of receiving the most common types of medium-haul aircraft and wide-body aircraft in the fleet of Russian and foreign airlines.

“The construction of the airport is completed, and after entering it will be available to residents of the Saratov region and guests of the region. The project is important, interesting, long-awaited. The idea of ​​its construction arose in 1976, but many factors interfered. Only in 2012, thanks to the support of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the issue of construction moved off the ground, and was implemented as part of a public-private partnership,” - said Vyacheslav Volodin.

Gagarin Airport is the largest civil aviation project completed in 2019, as well as the largest infrastructure project in the Saratov region in recent years. The new airport was built near the village of Saburovka in the Saratov region, 30 km north of Saratov. On August 20, 2019, from 08:00, all flights will be transferred from the old Tsentralny Airport to the new Gagarin Airport. The main characteristics of the airport complex of domestic and international flights: area - 23,000 sq. M .; throughput - 1 million pass / year and 570 pass / hour. - 13 check-in desks; 3 taprons, 4 baggage carousels.

The name “Gagarin” was assigned to the airport by an order of the Government of the Russian Federation in May 2018 based on an appeal from the Government of the Saratov Region and the results of an online survey of residents of the region. In connection with the name in honour of the first cosmonaut of the planet, a unique multimedia interactive exhibition on the history of the first space flight was created at the airport. Saratov and the Saratov region are historically associated with the name of Gagarin. Here, he studied at the school, began flying in an aero club, and the capsule of the descent vehicle with Yuri Gagarin on board also landed here. The authorities of the region hope that the new airport will give impetus to the development of the region. In the near future, the construction of a covered platform from the railway platform to the airport terminal, and after three years and a separate railway line to the airport.

photo: Yulia Kuzmina