Moscow Sheremetyevo celebrates opening of reconstructed runway

Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport, which opened its “new and improved” Terminal C at the start of 2020, has ended a difficult but eventful year by inaugurating its newly reconstructed Runway-1.

The runway has two new high-speed-exit taxiways, which according to the Russian gateway, ensure that it has the terminal facilities and airfield capacity to handle up to 110 million passengers per annum.

Russia’s Minister of Transport; Head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, and First Deputy Minister of Economic Development were among a host of dignitaries to join Alexander Ponomarenko,
chairman of the airport’s board of directors, at the official commissioning ceremony for the revamped runway.

“We were able to do the reconstruction of Runway-1, which is an important stage in the development of the airfield complex, thanks to the current concession agreement between the government, represented by Rosaviatsia, and Sheremetyevo Airport,” noted Ponomarenko.

“As a result, today we have three runways, which, together with the development of terminal capacity and in the context of normalising passenger traffic volume, provide an opportunity to achieve our strategic goal of serving 110 million passengers per year.”

Participants and guests of the event witnessed a unique large-scale parade of airfield equipment which included a convoy of 38 specialist vehicles used to maintain the airfield and serve visting aircraft throughout the year.

The event took place in a snowy Moscow, which led to the airport noting that its “powerful technical armament and hundreds of effective airfield equipment pieces and vehicles” ensured that it provides “a high degree of punctuality, reliability and flight safety even in extreme weather conditions”.

The $114 million reconstruction of Runway-1 was a priority project for the airport in 2020 as part of its Long-term Development Programme and was completed with little or no disruption to traffic, which continued to use Sheremetyevo’s other two runways.

The upgrade was completed in just 10 months and means that the 3,552m long runway is now capable of accommodating all aircraft types up to the A380 and giant Antonov cargo planes.

Sheremetyevo operator, JSC SIA, notes that the commissioning of a new airspace structure and the operation of three runways will improve fuel efficiency for the airlines and the safety and punctuality of flights in addition to reducing the workload on traffic-control and flight personnel through the use of conflict-free arrival and departure patterns.

It adds that the modern airfield and terminal infrastructure of Sheremetyevo “opens up broad opportunities for the long-term growth and development” of its airlines as the airport strives to become one of the world’s leading hubs.

Moscow Sheremetyevo is, of course, already a major transit hub for traffic between Europe and Asia and home base for national flag carrier, Aeroflot.

In addition to the opening of its revamped Terminal C, this year has also seen Sheremetyevo open a new hangar and maintenance complex for aircraft operated by the Aeroflot Group.

It cost $57 million and according to airport operator, JSC SIA, is the first facility of its kind in Russia.

Speaking at the time, Ponomarenko, said: “The new hangar will enable servicing aircraft at Sheremetyevo and help to increase safety and optimise operation of our airline partners.”

The 16,760sqm complex boasts an hangar section for aircraft service and maintenance with a five-story industrial extension and a two-story annex for production with hazardous materials, a compressor station, a pumping station for fire fighting with tanks to provide a consistent water supply, and a transformer substation with a diesel generator.

It also has a pre-hangar area for parking and towing aircraft to the hangar with roads and technological platforms for the passage and manoeuvring of special equipment.

The impressive new addition to Sheremetyevo’s infrastructure is said to contain “modern engineering equipment for the comprehensive check of the technical condition of aircraft, which is performed once a month or every 500 flight hours”.