Rostov-on-Don Airport was an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

located east of the city of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, in southern Russia. It was one of the largest airports in the south-west of Russia and the 12th busiest in the country. It was founded in 1925 and was designated an international airport in 1986. The airport served 50 destinations in Russia and abroad and hosted 30 airlines in 2015. It was a hub for

Donavia JSC "Donavia" () was an Aeroflot subsidiary airline based in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Its main bases were Rostov-on-Don Airport and Mineralnye Vody Airport after the Kavminvodyavia bankruptcy. It was known as Aeroflot-Don () from 2000–2009. In ...

until its merger with Rossiya. In 2015, Rostov Airport handled 2.06 million passengers, including 565 thousand on international routes. All regular and charter flights were transferred to

Platov International Airport Platov International Airport () is an airport close to the stanitsa of Grushevskaya, Aksaysky District, Rostov Oblast, Russia near the city of Novocherkassk northeast of Rostov-on-Don. It serves Rostov-on-Don (as a replacement for the old Ros ...

by 7 December 2017 11:00. By 1 March 2018 the old airport was scheduled to be officially closed. As of 2021, the airport was closed for further demolition.

History

In 1925 an airfield was constructed near

. A plot of of land was allocated for it in the fields of one of the city's suburbs. A house for the airport's head and the staff, as well as fuel storage facilities, were constructed. A paved road connected the airport with the city. On 15 June 1925 the first route (Rostov-

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

-Moscow) was launched. During the first three months, only 80 passengers were flown, but this was considered a success. In 1926 Rostov became a stopover for a high-demand route from Moscow to

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. In the 1930s, the first terminal building was constructed, but during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the airport was destroyed. In the post-war years, Rostov airport had to be restored from the ruins. By 1949 a runway of , the terminal building, apron and taxiways were constructed and the airport was re-launched. The current airport terminal was constructed in 1977. In the same year, the airport's runway was strengthened and lengthened by . In 1986, Rostov was designated an international airport, and scheduled international flights were launched in 1991. In 1992 the airport joined

Airports Council International Airports Council International (ACI) is an organization of Airport authority, airport authorities, informing members of industry practices and airport standards. Established in 1991, its headquarters (ACI World) are based in Montreal, Quebec, Ca ...

, the worldwide professional association of airport operators. In the 2000s, the airport was reconstructed, its runway was strengthened and lengthened from and a new departure hall with 300 seats was constructed. In 2006–2007, modernization and expansion (for 200 more seats) of the international sector of the airport was carried out, including the installation of new passenger elevators and escalators as well as new luggage conveyor and equipment for customs control. In 2007, a renewed VIP hall was opened. In 2009, a new flight information system with 49 monitors was installed. The airport's security was upgraded, including the installation of a new CCTV system and screening equipment at the terminal's entrances. In 2012, the airport's catering service was upgraded to provide up to 3,000 flight meals a day. In 2007, passenger traffic exceeded 1 million people, and by 2013 this number had doubled. In 2014, Rostov Airport was taken over by Airports of Regions, the largest airport operator in Russia. The new

was constructed for the upcoming

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. All flights from the old airport were transferred to the new facility on 7 December 2017.

Infrastructure

The airport met

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

4D standards. It had one concrete

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, ...

, 04/22, PCN 59/R/C/W/T, long and wide. The minimum visibility for take-off was 200 m. The airport was certified to handle aircraft up to the size of the

Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...

and

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

, as well as any types of helicopters. It had an

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

with 53 parking positions and total area of . A terminal building, constructed in 1977, provided an operational area of . It could serve 600 passengers per hour on domestic routes, and 450 passengers per hour on international routes.

Missile site

In late 2023, a new S-300 anti-aircraft missile site became visible along one of the airport's taxiways. This missile site was established to protect the airport from Ukrainian drone attacks in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The missile site can still be seen on recent

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...

, from 2024.

Airlines and destinations

There are no longer regular flights at the airport. The last regular flight was made on 7 December 2017 by

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (, ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; , , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. Aeroflot is headquartered in the Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow, with its hub being Sheremetyevo Interna ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. The airport was scheduled to be fully closed on 1 March 2018, but during the

it worked as a spare runway and/or during emergency situations.

Statistics

Annual traffic

Accidents and incidents

* On 19 March 2016, at 3:42 am local time, Flydubai Flight 981, a Boeing 737-8KN registered as A6-FDN, crashed after attempting a

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on Final_approach_(aeronautics), final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for var ...

due to a loss of situational awareness. The accident killed all 62 occupants on board.

References

External links

Rostov-on-Don Airport official website
* * * {{authority control Defunct airports in Russia Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Rostov Oblast Airports established in 1925 Airports disestablished in 2017 1925 establishments in Russia Airports of Regions Transport in Rostov-on-Don