Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (IATA: OVB, ICAO: UNNT) is situated in the town of Ob, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of the center of Novosibirsk, an industrial and scientific center in Siberia and Russia's third-largest city.
There are two (3,600 metres (11,800 ft) and 3,605 metres (11,827 ft)) active runways in Tolmachevo Airport, along with one large passenger terminal with two connected sections (Section A for domestic flights (25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft), 18 check-in desks, 2 jet bridges, capacity 1,800 passengers/hour, and Section B for international flights (27,000 square metres (290,000 sq ft), 14 check-in desks, 3 jet bridges, capacity 1,300 passengers/hour), 2 cargo terminals and 61 aircraft stands. Runway 16 is equipped with an ILS CAT II, which enables aircraft operations in low ceiling (30 metres) and visibility (350 metres).
The airport is situated in the middle of the route from some important East-Asian cities (e.g. Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, etc.) to Europe which makes it attractive for cargo airlines to use it for refueling stops. It serves also as a diversion airport on Polar route 1.
Tolmachevo is the busiest airport in Siberia and the sixth-busiest airport in Russia. It is also the busiest regional transit airport in Russia after Moscow MOW. In 2019, the airport served 6,747,151 passengers (+14.2%) and handled 34,142 tons of cargo (+7.0%). Detailed data for years 2003–2019 is in the Traffic Statistics section below.
The Tolmachevo Airport is operated by Novaport since 2011.
History
Operations began on July 12, 1957 with the first passenger flight of Tupolev Tu-104 from Novosibirsk to Moscow. The airport was owned by United Tolmachevo Aviation Enterprise and Ministry of Civil Aviation of the USSR until 1992. The airport then became a joint stock company in 1995, with 51% owned by the state. The domestic terminal was completely renovated in 2006. Tolmachevo Airport is also the first Russian airport to receive ISO 9002-96 certificate. On November 29, 2012, for the first time in its history the airport received its three-millionth annual passenger. During 2014-2015 the former international terminal was enlarged and merged with the domestic terminal which doubled its passenger capacity. The airport celebrated its four-millionth annual passenger on December 21, 2016. In the last hours of 2017 another milestone was reached: on December 31, 2017 the airport handled its five-millionth annual passenger. On December 18, 2019 the airport celebrated its first 6.5-millionth annual passenger.
Plans for its further development include construction of a new rapid-exit taxiway and 4 stands for wide-body aircraft, as well as a further expansion of the terminal with 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft) in 2018-2019 and 25,000 square metres (270,000 sq ft) until 2022.
The airport is also home to the 337th Independent Helicopter Regiment (previously called the 562nd Air Base (Army Aviation)) flying Mil Mi-24P's and Mil Mi-8AMTSh-V's.
