Novgorod Yurievo Airport () is a former airport serving the city of

Velikiy Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located southwest of the city centre. It was officially closed and replaced by the

Krechevitsy Airport Krechevitsy is a functioning civil airfield, formerly Russian Airforce base located 11 km northeast of Veliky Novgorod, Russia (near Krechevitsy). It contains 30 large revetments in a sprawling taxiway pattern, suitable for large transport ...

in 2002. It was a busy airport during the Soviet era, with regular flights to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

and other destinations. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the airport became abandoned due to economic stagnation. In 1996, the airport was hosting only one regular daily flight to

, but these flights were cancelled soon afterwards due to a small numbers of travellers deterred by high ticket prices. As of 2006, the only purpose Novgorod Airport serves is hosting a meteorological facility, still operational and providing weather forecasts for the city. The former

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

is used for

car racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. Excavations on the site in preparation for a residential development unveiled the foundations of a structure associated with the

Arkazhsky Monastery The Arkazhy Monastery () was one of the most important monasteries of medieval Novgorod the Great. It stood about two miles south of the city and just west of the Yuriev Monastery. All that remains of it today is the Church of the Assumption of ...

Incidents

On October 22, 1975, a

Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed in Soviet Union by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. It was introduced to service in 1968, with export mo ...

plane crashed, flying from Syktyvkar to Riga with an intermediate landing in Novgorod. When landing in fog, the crew mistakenly believed that they had flown over the marker and continued to descend. 700 m away from the glide path at a height of 20 m, the landing gear and wing grazed the roof of the printing house, after which the plane flew over Karl Marx Avenue, hit several trees and еhe plane collided with a four-story apartment building. 4 crew members, 2 passengers, 5 residents of the city were killed in the accident, eight people were injured.

References

Defunct airports in Russia Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Novgorod Oblast Buildings and structures in Veliky Novgorod {{Russia-airport-stub