Most people know that Moscow has three international airports - Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo. But there is another hub that few people know about. This is the Ostafyevo airfield. Since its foundation, the air harbor has been shrouded in secrets of national importance. Even now, information about the airfield rarely leaks. Nevertheless, this air harbor has international status. That is, there are border and customs controls. In this article, we tried to collect all the information about the mysterious airfield from which no less mysterious military and civilian aircraft depart. Where is this airport located? How to get to it from the center of Moscow? What facilities will you find in the terminal? We will talk about all this below.
Where is the Ostafievo airfield located
The official address of this air harbor is the Ryazanovskoye settlement. But this point, althoughlocated twelve kilometers from the Moscow Ring Road, has long been an integral part of the Russian capital. Now it is the Novomoskovsky administrative district. The airfield is located three kilometers west of the Shcherbinka railway station. And 9 km south of it is the town of Podolsk. Very close to the air harbor is the South-Western Administrative District of Moscow, or rather, the South Butovo district.
In a straight line from Ostafyevo to the center of Moscow - 30 kilometers, and by road - 35. Such proximity to Red Square makes the airfield in demand for business aviation. In principle, it is currently used mainly by her. There are two ways to get to the airport. It leads from the Moscow Ring Road through the village of Kommunarka. The second is laid from M-3 "Ukraine". It follows through the settlements of Sosenki, Yamontovo and Kommunarka.
History of Ostafyevo airfield near Moscow
Fate itself decreed that this place was somehow connected with aeronautics. In the 19th century, the village of Ostafievo belonged to the Vyazemsky princely family. Its representatives were not alien to art and science. So, from the Ostafyevo estate, Princess P. Gagarina rose into the sky in a balloon. And it happened in 1803! After that, the balloon was kept for a long time at the Vyazemsky estate. But the Ostafyevo airfield dates back to 1934, when the land was transferred to the NKVD department. Due to the secrecy of this service, we have a minimum of information about how this hub operated.
The situation is somewhat clearer since February 1942,when the already functioning "special purpose airfield" was transferred to the Main Directorate of the Air Force. However, the army is also not a structure that likes openness and publicity. It is known that the 17th long-range aviation division was based here during the war years.
Post-war history
The airfield continued to be operated by the military. Training flights and tests of machines were carried out here, such as, for example, "blind landing air - mainland" and others. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union, hard times came for the airfield. The city authorities of Moscow even had plans to raze the airfield and buildings to the ground in order to build residential areas here. But the airfield happily survived the hard times of the 1990s, and not without the help of Gazprom. This structure carried out a complete reconstruction of an old airfield. Not only that, she has erected all the necessary buildings there and introduced the amenities required by the standards for obtaining the status of an international airport.
The military continues to be based in this hub. In particular, the composition of the 7050 Guards Aviation Group (a division of the Northern Fleet of Russian Naval Aviation) is located there. But, at the same time, the international airport of federal significance Ostafyevo (this is its modern official name) serves civilian aircraft. These aircraft belong to Gazprom Avia LLC. Ground handling is handled by Aviapartner.
Air Harbor Specifications
Before 1995(that is, until the time of the reconstruction of the hub by Gazprom) there was one runway 1520 meters long. And not all of it was covered with concrete. After being leased by Gazprom, the following runways of the Ostafyevo airfield appeared:
- Reinforced concrete (2050 m long and 48 m wide).
- Soil (1500 in length and 48 m, respectively, in width)
Aprons for aircraft parking, navigation, radio engineering and other buildings, heated hangars, its own electrical system and autonomous water supply from underground wells were built. In 2000, the Ostafyevo terminal was built and put into operation, designed for passenger transportation of VIP clients. These technical characteristics allow the air harbor to receive aircraft of the configuration An-24, Tu-134, Yak-40 and 42, Il-18, An-74, An-12, Falcon-900B, other types of aircraft of the third and fourth classes, as well as all helicopter types. The airport operates all year round, day and night.
Amenities
The Ostafyevo airfield terminal is small, but very comfortable. After all, it was built for the needs of business aviation. The capacity of the airport is small: 70 people on domestic flights and 40 on international flights. But the workload of the hub is scanty. Therefore, VIP passengers can go through all pre- and post-flight procedures very quickly. To wait for boarding a flight, there is a very comfortable lounge with soft leather furniture. And right in front of the terminal building there is a spacious parking lot for cars. In the common lobbyairport there are ATMs, ticket offices, cafes.
Airport Expansion Plans
In the very beginning of the 2000s, the city authorities wanted to close the hub altogether, because, in their opinion, it interfered with the development of the South Butovo district. Gazprom had its own vision of the future airport. Today, the plans of the Moscow authorities do not include closing the hub for business passengers, but laying convenient highways to it. And, as they say, even subway lines. "Gazprom" is also fulfilling its part of the responsibilities for the reconstruction of the airport. Thus, it is planned to extend the reinforced concrete runway to two and a half kilometers and, accordingly, upgrade the taxiways. A hotel is being built next to the airport. Perhaps they will increase the number of hangars and aircraft parking areas, improve the overall infrastructure of the air harbor.
