Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty Аэропорт Псков имени княгини Ольги | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military / Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Pskovavia | ||||||||||
| Location | Pskov,Pskov Oblast,Russia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 154 ft / 47 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 57°47′6″N28°23′54″E / 57.78500°N 28.39833°E /57.78500; 28.39833 | ||||||||||
| Website | pskovavia.ru | ||||||||||
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  Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty Princess Olga Pskov Airport Show map of RussiaPskov-Kresty (Russia) | |||||||||||
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Princess Olga Pskov International Airport (Russian:Международный аэропорт Псков имени княгини Ольги[2] [3]) (IATA:PKV,ICAO:ULOO) is an airfield inPskov Oblast,Russia, located 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast ofPskov. It has been used for many decades as amilitary airbase and has had periods of time in which it was also utilized as acommercial airport.
It is a medium air base with 27 largerevetments in a complex, sprawling taxiway layout and home to the334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment as part of the12th Military Transport Aircraft Division ofMilitary Transport Aviation which flies theIlyushin Il-76.[4] The civilian terminal area services up to 13 medium/large planes and 20 small planes. There is no instrument landing capability.
The airfield dates to the 1930s, when it became a host base for one of the Soviet Airforce regiments. Under theGerman Nazi occupation, it was used by theLuftwaffe to supply advancingWehrmacht troops.[5][6]
After WWII, some commercial use of the airport was used for commuter services to local airfields in Pskov oblast (Velikie Luki,Gdov, Samolva, etc.) and for scheduled flights to Moscow,Leningrad,Riga],Tartu,Vitebsk,Kharkiv,Simferopol and other destinations in the European part of theUSSR.[citation needed]
By 1955, intelligence sources reported four-engine aircraft operating on a 2500-meter runway.[7] In the 1960s, the airfield hosted about two dozenAntonov An-10 andAntonov An-12 turboprop transports.[8] In the 1970s, the aircraft were upgraded to Il-76 jets, operated by the 334 VTAP (334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment).[9] In 1984, the airbase had a normal complement of 27 Il-76 aircraft.[10]
Some time prior to the 1980s[clarification needed], part of the airbase was set aside for commercial activities, while the runway was shared, and a few regular commercial flights began. During the 1990s, regular commercial flights were interrupted due to the economic collapse which caused a significant reduction in the demand for passenger and cargo air service and the closure of all local airfields in Pskov andLeningradoblasts. After a short-lived air connection toMoscow operated byEurasia Airlines during 2003, scheduled airline services were not resumed until May 2007.[11] In the beginning, these services were operated bySt. Petersburg-based carrierVyborg Airlines but have since been taken over byUTair Aviation andAtlant-Soyuz and later discontinued.[citation needed]In 2009, two airlines announced they would serve the airport.Region-Avia started flights toMoscow-Vnukovo andairBaltic announced international services to itsRiga hub. The latter services were cancelled in December 2009 due to the state of therunway during winter.
During the 2010s, Pskovavia maintained scheduled flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg withAn-24 andAn-26turboprops until the airline's license was revoked. In 2018,Azimuth airline began regular flights to Moscow with itsSukhoi Superjet 100. As of 2020, flights to five Russian airports are maintained.[12]
Scheduled passenger flights are currently[as of?] operated by Sukhoi Superjet 100,Bombardier CRJ andLet L-410.[citation needed]
On 29 August 2023, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the airbase, destroying twoIl-76 jets and damaging another two.[13][14]
| Airlines | Destinations |
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| Azimuth | Kaliningrad,Mineralnye Vody,Moscow–Vnukovo,[15]Sochi[16] |
