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«There will be a growth point here»

Growing demand for aviation in the Far East and the Arctic requires infrastructure development

15 september 2022

One of the topics of discussion at EEF 2022 was the development of airport infrastructure in the Far East and the Arctic. The issue is particularly relevant today: global changes have led to an increase in passenger and freight traffic with Southeast Asian countries. Local airlines are also setting historical records: there is a growing demand for small aircraft in the regions. This means that strengthening airport infrastructure becomes a strategic issue.

The prospects for aviation were discussed at the session 'Strengthening Airport Infrastructure in the Far East and Arctic' at the EEF 2022. Evgeniy Chudnovskiy, Director General of the Airports of Regions MC noted,hat the Western sanctions pressure would not be a deterrent but an additional incentive to develop air services in the country's eastern borders.

Airports in the Far East are becoming transhipment points and hubs on the route of goods from Southeast Asia to central Russia and back. The demand for airports is also underlined by the perceived increase in interest in travel within Russia.

Thus, all of these global changes have resulted in Far East airports showing an increase in passenger traffic of between 10 and 20% over the last nine months. Similar trends exist in some Arctic regions. The Murmansk Region, for example, reached a record high in 2021, exceeding the results of pre-pandemic 2019.

«We have achieved a small record for ourselves, 486,000 tourists, but that is not a total we are prepared to accept. Our goal is 1 million tourists to the Arctic», – said Marina Kosheleva, representative of the region's Tourism Committee.

To reach the new record, Murmansk Airport is due to be modernised in 2023 and will begin receiving long-haul flights. The new terminal will serve more than 1 million passengers a year.

At the same time, it is not aviation that currently hinders tourism development but the lack of hospitality infrastructure, said Evgeniy Chudnovskiy at the EEF 2022 session. In response, Ivan Pechorin — Managing Director of the Far East Development Corporation, said that work on its creation is underway, including within the framework of the EEF 2022.

When it comes to the Arctic, to accommodate a million tourists, the Murmansk Region is approaching the problem in a comprehensive way. 'Our main task now is to develop infrastructure, a lot of guest houses, hotels. This is facilitated, among other things, by the Arctic Hectare programme and our Governor's Startup grants, and more and more forms of tourist accommodation are appearing, – said Andrey Chibis, governor of the Murmansk Region.

Domestic transport within the Far East and Arctic regions is also developing rapidly. Renewal of the ageing fleet of regional jets remains a burning issue, but this too is being addressed as Russian aircraft manufacturers prepare new series.

For example, in August, ChukotAVIA, which became the first commercial operator of the new IL-114-300 and LMS-901 Baikal series aircraft and Mi-171A3(A2) helicopters, reported, that it had received aircraft with the required features and equipment and real guarantees to ensure their serviceability. Krasnoyarsk KrasAvia is the first airline in the Siberian Federal Districtto sign a contract with the Ural Civil Aviation Plant for the delivery of ten LMS-901 Baikal light multipurpose aircraft. To enable the new planes to fly to the northernmost settlements of the Evenki and Taymyr regions, they will be fitted with the ski landing gear. Polar Airlines, a key regional carrier in Yakutia said , it also expects the TVRS-44 Ladoga, Baikal (LMS-901), IL-114-300, a new import substitute Sukhoi Superjet (SSJ NEW), Mi-171A2 and Mi-171A3 to be successfully implemented.

Nevertheless, to take the next step forward, a joint effort by all stakeholders is needed.

Igor Chalik, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, spoke about plans to speed up work on airport infrastructure maintenance in the FEFD. Airport infrastructure modernisation continues in the Arctic regions as well. Thus, on 19 August, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order to allocate more than RUB 5.59 bn to compensate for the additional costs of building and reconstructing Yakutia's airports.

Igor Chalik, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, spoke about plans to speed up work on airport infrastructure maintenance in the FEFD. Airport infrastructure modernisation continues in the Arctic regions as well. Thus, on 19 August, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order to allocate more than RUB 5.59 bn to compensate for the additional costs of building and reconstructing Yakutia's airports.

Three airports are being reconstructed in Chukotka—in Russia's northernmost city Pevek, in the Keperveem and Markovo settlements. The reconstruction of the runway at Pevek airport should be completed by 1 October, after which the airport will be able to handle medium-haul and some long-haul aircraft.

At the same time as existing airports are being renovated, new airports are being built, such as the terminal in Novy Urengoy. The Yamal authorities are supporting the project to ensure that commissioning dates are not compromised by sanctions. They have no doubt that the new terminal will be in demand. 'Obviously, Novy Urengoy is a key transport hub in the Arctic, business activity in the city will be high and people will take flights», - believes YNAA Governor Dmitry Artyukhov.

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