Pulkovo Airport was officially opened on June 24, 1932, as a state-owneddomestic airport. According to provisional figures for 2017, 16,125,520 passengers passed through the airport, a 21.6% increase over 2016. This makes Pulkovo the4th busiest airport in Russia and thepost-Soviet states.[4] Pulkovo is one of the largest airports in Russia andEastern Europe.
In January 1931, construction of an aerodrome nearLeningrad (Saint Petersburg's official name between 1924 and 1991 and the source of the airfield'sIATA code of "LED"[4]) commenced and was completed on 24 June 1932, with the first aircraft arriving at 17:31 that day, after a two-and-a-half hour flight fromMoscow carrying passengers and mail.[6] This aerodrome was at first namedShosseynaya Airport, the name coming from the nearbyShosseynaya railway station.[7] Soon after, the airport opened regular flights toPetrozavodsk,Pudozh,Arkhangelsk, andMurmansk.
In 1936, a foundation for a new terminal was laid out. Leningrad's airport was also provided with newG-2s andPS-84s.[8] In 1941, a new completely commercial passenger route between Moscow and Leningrad was opened; before it was a mixed passenger-mail route. Construction of the new terminal thrived between 1937 and 1941. The architects of the new three-story terminal were Aleksandr Ivanovich Gegello and N.E. Lansere.
Construction was abruptly put on hold in July 1941, one month afterNazi Germany's invasion of the USSR on 22 June 1941. The airport was the front line in the GermanSiege of Leningrad. There were no flights between 1941 and 1944. The nearbyPulkovo hills were occupied by the Germans and were used by German long-range artillery for dailybombardments of Leningrad. The airport was cleared of the Germans in January 1944, and cargo and mail flights were resumed after the runways were repaired in 1945. In February 1948, after the damage was completely repaired, the airport resumed scheduled passenger flights. In 1949, there were scheduled flights to 15 major cities of the USSR, and 15 more short-range flights within north-western Russia.[9] In 1949, Shosseynaya Airport recorded a passenger traffic rate of 6,305,333 tons of mail, and 708 tons of cargo.[10]
In 1951, the construction of the new terminal was complete. In the mid-1950s the new extended runway was completed, allowing the airport to handle larger aircraft such asIlyushin-18 andTupolev-104.[11] In that same time period, the use of jet engine planes began in Shosseynaya Airport. On 15 March 1959, the USSR-42419 Tu-104 was the first commercial jet airplane to take off from the Shosseynaya Airport.[citation needed]
In the early 1960s, modern regional airplanes such as theAn-24 andYak-40 began to appear in the airport. Flights toVladivostok began to emerge in the flight lists.ICAO category 1 standards were implemented in 1965, making way for international operations. By the late 1960s, over 60 airlines had flights to and from Leningrad airport. On 8 February 1971, Shosseynaya was awarded theOrder of the October Revolution.[12] The airport was renamedPulkovo Airport on 24 April 1973. In May 1973, the new Pulkovo 1 terminal was opened. The famous 5-cup Pulkovo 1 was designed by Alexandr Zyk. The 5 cups on top were put intentionally to give the terminal a more spacious feeling and allow more natural sunlight to pass through. This terminal is regarded as a masterpiece ofSoviet postmodern architecture.[13] Pulkovo 1 was a domestic-only terminal. Domestic air traffic increased by approximately 45% every decade between the 1970-1990s. The old pre-war building of the airport was renamed Pulkovo 2 and the terminal was exploited for international flights only.[14]
On 11 April 1986, the new departure and arrival zones for the international terminal were completed, doubling the passenger traffic rate capacity of Pulkovo 1.
In 1990, Pulkovo Airport reached its passenger traffic rate peak of over 10,000,000 passengers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of passengers declined. In 2005, Pulkovo Airport gained independence as it separated from the Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise. Also in 2005, Rosavia declares that Pulkovo Airport (still state-owned) is to have an open tender on an investment project of the new terminal construction. This allowed it to sell shares and begin working on investment bidding projects. In 2006, Pulkovo Airport served just over 5,000,000 passengers: only 50% of the number from 1990.
In 2007,Grimshaw Architects was announced as the winner of the construction contract. In 2009, the Saint Petersburg Transportation Ministry requested that an operating company for Pulkovo Airport be created, and a consortium known as NCG (Northern Capital Gateway) was set up by Russian VTB Capital Bank, international Fraport AG Company, and the Greek Copelouzos Group. On 29 April 2010, NCG won the tender for a 30-year operating lease over Pulkovo Airport. On 24 November 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony celebrating the beginning of construction on the new 150,000 m2Terminal 1.
From 2020, the number of destinations is expected to increase rapidly, with up to 75% increase in passenger numbers forecast. This follows a five-year test agreement permitting non-Russian airlines to operate flights from multiple European destinations into the airport under an OpenSkies/Seventh-freedom traffic right[15] The test follows an easing of visa requirements for many European nationals wishing to visit the St Petersburg region designed to increase tourism to the city through the airport.[16]
On 31 January 2024, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery near St. Petersburg. The Ukrainian drones and Russian air defence missiles fired to stop the attack led to all flights from the Pulkovo airport being suspended between 3:53 a.m. and 5:11 a.m.[17]
Exterior of old terminal 1View of the taxiwaysDuty-free area of terminal 1New terminal exteriorNew departure hall interiorTerminal 1 interior after renovation
This historic terminal, opened in 1973, is 43,000 m2 (460,000 sq ft).[18] It was built for 6,500,000 passengers annually, but by 2008 it surpassed its maximum capacity.[19] Since its reconstruction was completed in 2014, this terminal is now used for all passenger flights, domestic and international. It has severalduty-free shops, restaurants, and sixjet bridges. It was reported that when the reconstruction of Pulkovo 1 is completed, Pulkovo Airport's capacity would increase to 17,000,000 passengers annually.
Construction of Terminal 1 was delayed several times but finally began in 2010.[citation needed] In November 2013, the airport was tested for errors by over 5,200 residents of Saint Petersburg who partook in the process. Several days after the test, the new Terminal 1 opened on December 3, 2013. On February 14, 2014, all operations were consolidated into the new terminal as the old Pulkovo 1 and Pulkovo 2 terminals have been shut down.[18] The new terminal contains several business lounges, restaurants, pharmacies. Terminal 1 is 147,000 m2 (1,580,000 sq ft) and has 400,000 m2 (4,310,000 sq ft) airport dock in front of it. The airport has 88 check-in counters, 110 passport booths, 7baggage carousels, 110 parking stands, 17 gates, and 17 escalators. The interior of the new airport was designed byGrimshaw Architects and directly correlates with the designs and style of Saint Petersburg city. The new Terminal also sought many artistic sculptures and paintings to givehttp://line-stargadget.ru/Archived 2022-08-09 at theWayback Machine a sense of thriving culture to passengers. Four sculptures fromDmitry Shorin's project namedI Believe in Angels decorate the departure hall.[20][21]
The current Pulkovo-1 terminal includes the new terminal and the old Soviet terminal that was re-constructed and fully converted into the departure area.
Northern Capital Gateway (NCG) began managing the airport in 2009.[93]
The airport's website lists the companies currently participating alongside NCG:[93]
"Russian VTB Capital, member of state-owned VTB Group, GermanFraport, which manages and operates the airport of Frankfurt and many other international airports, and Horizon Air Investments S.A. member of the Greek Copelouzos Group".
Although not yet listed on the website, the latest investor isQatar Investment Authority (QIA), which now owns a 25% share of the Pulkovo Airport.[94][95] Sheikh Ahmed Al-Thani, vice chairman of QIA and member of Qatar's rulingAl-Thani family, is now listed as a member of the Board of Directors on the Pulkovo airport's website, along with Arturo Carta of QIA.[96]
In November 2023, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin signed a decree temporarily removing foreign investors from managing the airport. They will retain their shares, but the votes will be controlled by two Russian companies - NCG Holding and Advanced Industrial and Infrastructure Technologies-7.[97]
In 2025, Fraport sold its 25% shareholding to Orbital Aviation.[98]
On 27 April 1974, anIlyushin Il-18V passenger aircraft ofAeroflot flying toKrasnodar crashed right after takeoff from Pulkovo after an engine fire. All 108 passengers and 10 crew members died. It eventually came to be known as the1974 Leningrad Aeroflot Il-18 crash.
On 20 October 2025, anAirbus A320 operated byAzerbaijan Airlines skidded off the airport runway while performing an emergency landing shortly after it took off from Pulkovo on its way to Baku due to a landing gear malfunction, resulting in the evacuation of all 155 passengers.[99]
^Грей, Виктория (29 June 2025)."Nesma Airlines выполнила первый рейс в Пулково".spb.dixinews.ru. Сетевое издание «Агентство официальных новостей». Информационного агентства «DixiNews». Retrieved30 June 2025.
^ab"Больше рейсов в Фергану и Наманган!".AeroTur (in Russian). Official website for Uzbekistan Airways tickets sales, supported by Aerotur LLC. Retrieved13 February 2024.
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Moscow
Moscow Oblast
Republic of Crimea
Krasnodar Krai
Kaliningrad Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Murmansk Oblast
Belarus
Uzbekistan
Moldova
Tajikistan
Kazakhstan
Armenia
Kyrgyzstan
Turkey
Germany
France
Cyprus
Finland
Latvia
Czech Republic
United Arab Emirates
Italy
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