Facts about Moscow and St Petersburg Airports

Airport is what an adventure in a new city starts from. This is also the place where it ends, and we like to have good starts and happy endings. To know more about them read Facts about Moscow and St Petersburg Airports.

Let’s enjoy it!

Moscow sunrise

Moscow is a highly dynamic city: every day its airports handle traffic of 5,368 million people. There are four major airports in Russia, three of them are in Moscow and one in Saint Petersburg; each of them provides both domestic and international flights.

Three main airports are located not far from Moscow downtown: 35 minutes by Aeroexpress from Sheremetyevo airport (SVO) to the city center, 45 minutes from Domodevodo (DME) and 35-40 minutes from Vnukovo (VKO) – a commute that will take you directly to the airport without any stops.

Sheremetyevo

SVO or Sheremetyevo airport is in the North of Moscow. The Belorussky railway terminal (green or brown metro line) provides a direct commute to this airport. Don’t worry about commuting, if you take tours of Moscow and St Petersburg, your private guide can meet you at the airport to make it a stress-free start for you.

SVO is the 11th busiest airport in Europe and it serves 31 million people a year.

Was officially opened on August 11, 1959.

Sheremetyevo International Airport is the largest Russian airport in terms of scheduled international flights. The Airport’s network of routes includes more than 300 destinations.

Founded in 1953, it used to be a depot aerodrome for the Soviet government. A museum dedicated to its history can be found on the 5^th floor.

SVO airport provides the best service. Apart from restaurants, spa-areas and VIP zones for business meetings there is a free lounge room “Sirius” for disabled people as well as special parking places. In every terminal (A-F) there can be found Mother-and-Child rooms served with changing tables, kitchen and a playroom.

There is a number of hotels in the airports’ zones with a possibility to choose from 3*-4*-5* suits. Shuttle to the airport is provided 24/7 and takes 5-15 mins to get from the airport to the hotel.
These hotel complexes are very close to the airports and quite far from the city center.

Edward Snowden spent more than a month in SVO’s transit zone and left it after being granted a political asylum in Russia.

In one of the Soviet fictional movies the SVO airport successfully played a role of a space port.

SVO airport. Photo by aex.ru

Domodedovo

DME or Domodedovo airport is located in the South of Moscow. To get to this particular airport one should get to the Paveletsky railway terminal, where the Aeroexpress goes from (green or brown circle metro line).

DME is the 12th busiest airport in Europe and it serves 30 million people a year.

About 80 airlines operate out of DME.

Was officially opened on April 7, 1962.

It is surrounded by hotels where travellers and tourists can have a nap, take a shower or have a rest. Duty free zone and spa areas make the waiting period more pleasant. The airport inside provides free Internet access; people can go to a cinema and even to an Art Gallery right in the airport. The Art Gallery project is supported by many Russian painters.

If you find yourself interested in Soviet-time aviation – welcome to the airport museum that collects a number of photos and gives an idea of how the airport looked like in the 1960s when it was just constructed.

DME airport. Photo by nahshaus.ru

Vnukovo

VKO or Vnukovo airport is one of the oldest airports in Moscow. It is located in the Western part of Moscow. The Kievskaya railway terminal (dark blue or brown metro line) provides a smooth way to this airport.

The airport serves almost 16 million people a year.

Was officially opened on July 2, 1941, just 10 days after WWII started in Russia.

Its construction started in 1937 and in 1941 it functioned as a depot for military airlines.

Vnukovo airport is the largest in Russia with a complex area of 270 000 sq m. Vnukovo-2 complex is used for special flights servicing the top leaders of the state (including the Russian President), as well as foreign leaders. Terminals of Vnukovo-3 are used for special flights servicing the government of Moscow, the Russian Space Agency and aviation business aviation.

Entertaining facilities in this airport include business lounges, spa-areas, cafes, restaurants, smoking areas etc.

Aircrafts-members of the 70th Military Parade on May, 9th landed in VKO airport.
In 1980, Vnukovo was the main airport used by sportsmen and guests of the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow.
It is used for governmental needs, provides landing of military aircrafts. It is Moscow’s oldest operating airport and is the first international airport in Moscow.
Here landed an aircraft with a red flag that was atop the Reichstag building.

VKO airport is planning to have a Formula 1 speedway in 2016.

VKO airport. Photo by svoiludi

Pulkovo

LED or Pulkovo airport is the only active airport in Saint Petersburg, located in the south of the city, and the third busiest airport in Russia after SVO and DME in Moscow.

Shuttle buses provide way to the city, connecting the airport with metro-station Moskovskaya.

LED airport provides services for 13 million passengers per year.

It consists of only two terminals; one of them is under reconstruction. The other is called Pulkovo 2. It is served with chain restaurants, pharmacies and lounge zones. Its interior design by Grimshaw Architects from London directly correlates with the city style. No doubt that this airport provides the best entertaining facilities for its travelers.

The airport was completely reconstructed in 2013-15 and is now brand new.

Few people talk English here, but if you take a private car and guided tours, St Petersburg may be the loveliest cities you ever experienced.