Authorities in Russia's Krasnodar hope to reopen city's airport in Feb

KRASNODAR. Jan 18 (Interfax) - Krasnodar International Airport, part of Aerodinamika Group, may resume operations in February 2024, Krasnodar City Duma Speaker Vera Galushko told reporters on Thursday.

"It has been promised that the airport will be reopened, [and] it's not ruled out that the airport will reopen in February. We have done everything for our part. As for coordination with the Defense Ministry, they are now preparing a [corresponding] proposal," she said.

The airport will operate only during the daytime until 9 p.m., she added.

As reported, on December 15, 2023, an Azimuth airline plane landed at Krasnodar Airport, performing a technical flight ahead of the airport's reopening for regular flights. The flight was made from Mineralnye Vody Airport in Stavropol Territory.

It was noted at the time that the airport's infrastructure is being maintained in good operational condition. To support the airport for the period of its temporary closure, the Russian government together with the Transport Ministry's assistance allocated 1.54 billion rubles in subsidies.

If the airport is reopened, Aeroflot is ready to operate up to four Moscow-Krasnodar flights on a daily basis at the first stage. Pobeda Airlines, a member of Aeroflot Group, also said that flights could be resumed if the airport is reopened.

Krasnodar Airport has been closed for security reasons since February 2022. The airports of Anapa, Gelendzhik, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, Elista and a number of airports in the Central Federal District, namely Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Lipetsk, also remain closed. Currently, Sochi Airport is the only airport operating in the Southern Federal District.

Krasnodar Airport, alongside Anapa and Sochi airports, is part of Aerodinamika Group. At the end of 2021, its passenger traffic reached a record five million people.