Today, on 18 November, the Platov international airport (a part of Airports of Regions) received the first passenger flights as part of the preparation for the transfer of airline and passenger services to the new air harbour in Rostov-on-Don. Aircraft of Azimuth Airlines and Rossiya Airlines landed in Platov.
Azimuth’s liner started out from the operating airport of Rostov-on-Don for Platov, which was being prepared to be opened. About a hundred honourable guests, including RF Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov, Governor of the Rostov Region Vasily Golubev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renova Group Viktor Vekselberg and Honorary Citizens of the Rostov Region, arrived aboard Sukhoi Superjet 100. The first passengers of Platov were representatives of federal services and departments, executive and legislative authorities of the region, law enforcement agencies, and regional media. According to the aviation tradition, the first flight was met by a water arch from the fire-hose barrels.
The first flight from Moscow was carried out by Rossiya Airlines (a part of Aeroflot Group), on board A-319 aircraft, symbolically named "Rostov-on-Don" in honour of the largest city in the south of Russia. It carried the representatives of Rosaviatsiya (The Federal Air Transport Agency), the project partner companies and industry media to the capital of the Southern Federal District. The passengers left the aircraft through the air bridges which allowed entering the terminal complex quickly and comfortably, not entering the apron.
The Platov international airport is the largest infrastructure project in the Rostov region. The airport facility was built in the Aksai district, 4 km far from the north of the village of Grushevskaya. The Platov international airport is an absolutely new airport built in the post-Soviet history of the country. It will replace the existing one, which will be decommissioned and eventually integrated into the urban development. The construction project of the new airport complex in Rostov-on-Don is being implemented as part of the Federal Programme "Development of the Transport System of Russia (2010-2020)" and the Programme for the preparation and holding of the 2018 World Cup in the Russian Federation. The project is implemented on the basis of public-private partnership. The project participants are the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Rostov Region and "Airports of Regions" Management Company. The total budget of the project makes more than 45 billion rubles.
Capabilities and specification of the airport facility:
- Total floor area of the passenger terminal: 50,000 sq.m
- Airport capacity: 1,791 passengers per hour
- Number of air bridges: 9
- Parking: 2,500 cars
- Runway - 3600 * 45 meters
- Number of aircraft parking places - 45
- Handling of cargo: 20 thousand tons per year