Irkutsk International Airport (IATA: IKT, ICAO: UIII) is a federal airport with a Class B airfield, located in Irkutsk on the outskirts of five and a half kilometers from the city center.
The airport is the home of Angara and IrAero airlines, as well as a regional hub airport for S7 Airlines.
History
Airport near the village of Bokovo
On June 24, 1925, six planes landed in Irkutsk, flying on the route Moscow — Ulaanbaatar — Beijing — Tokyo. The flight was carried out on 4 domestic and 2 foreign planes. The flight was led by Schmidt Isai Pavlovich, Mikhail Gromov was part of the expedition. This event was the beginning of the organized systematic aviation development of Siberia [source not specified 688 days]. The airfield was located near the village of Bokovo and had an initial size of 500x600 steps.
In August 1932, the world's largest Moscow— Vladivostok airway was opened, Irkutsk aviators performed flights on the Irkutsk — Mogocha section.
Hydroaeroport on the Hangar
Since June 1928, a hydroaeroport on the Angara River in the center of modern Irkutsk, near the current Frank-Kamenetsky Street, began its work in Irkutsk. Seaplanes made regular flights to the north of the Irkutsk region and to Yakutia. Aircraft were equipped with floats in summer and skis in winter.
Irkutsk Airport
By July 1933, due to inconvenient transport links with the aerostation in the village of Bokovo, located in a swampy area, the main air traffic was transferred to the site near the Red Barracks (the territory of the modern airport).
Since January 1948, regular round—the—clock flights have been operated on domestic air lines: Irkutsk — Moscow, Irkutsk - Bodaibo - Yakutsk. The international status was assigned to the airport on December 30, 1954 by the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
On September 15, 1956, a Tu-104 jet aircraft landed for the first time at the Irkutsk airfield — on this day, the first passenger airline was opened in the USSR on a Moscow (Vnukovo) — Omsk — Irkutsk jet aircraft.
Since April 4, 1975, flights to Moscow have been operated on a second-generation Tu-154 jet aircraft.
In the period from 1988 to 1989, the basic part of the runway was reconstructed at the airport, and passenger flights on Tu-154 aircraft were carried out from the Belaya military airfield - Irkutsk (B) was indicated in the schedule. Passengers and luggage were checked in at the airport terminals in Irkutsk, and only then passengers were taken by bus to the airbase directly to the aircraft.
As a result of the reorganization of the Irkutsk United Aviation Squadron , enterprises were formed on April 1 , 1992: GUP "Irkutsk Airport" and JSC "Baikal Airline".
On October 28, 1994, Irkutsk Airport received a certificate from the Interstate Aviation Committee and was recognized as suitable for servicing international flights.
On July 14, 2004, the airfield received a certificate for admission to international flights and landing at a minimum of the I-th category of ICAO.
On November 13, 2009 Irkutsk Airport held a spotting session for the first time, becoming the third city in Russia (after Moscow and Novosibirsk). The event has become traditional.
Terminals
Passenger terminals
The first terminal was built in November 1938.
Due to the development of air traffic, the beginning of maintenance of second-generation jet aircraft (Tu-154) and the corresponding increase in passenger traffic, in February 1976, the second terminal was put into operation, built according to a standard project.
In 1994, after the airport received the certificate of the Interstate Aviation Committee and the opening of the air harbor for international flights, the building of the first terminal after reconstruction was put back into operation to serve passengers of international flights.
The second terminal, serving domestic airlines, existed unchanged until 2005. By this time, the station was already struggling to cope with the increase in passenger traffic. Additional areas were also required to accommodate technological equipment that meets the new requirements of transport security, automation and maintenance. The reconstruction was carried out according to an individual project by the specialists of Irkutskpromstroyproekt and helped to increase the area of the building almost twice — up to 13 thousand square meters. The terminal was reopened in 2009 and named the "Crystal Gate".
Cargo terminal
The cargo terminal is equipped with diesel loaders, lifting mechanisms, a container platform, electronic and mechanical scales (for cargo weighing up to 30 tons).
Airfield
The airport has one artificial runway located away from the aprons, because of this, the taxiing route of aircraft can be 5 km.
There are 14 taxiways, 2 aprons and 70 parking lots for various types of aircraft on the territory of the airfield. There is a separate heliport measuring 190 X 30 m with asphalt concrete pavement (for helicopters no more than 20 tons).
Currently, only one taxiway meets modern requirements and can receive large international airliners. Of the 75 parking spaces, only five meet the same requirements.
Accepted types of aircraft
The airport has access to the following types of aircraft:
AN-12, AN-24, AN-26, AN-28, AN-140, AN-148, AN-124-100 Ruslan,
Tu-134, Tu-154, Tu-204, Tu-214,
Il-62, Il-76, Il-96-300, Il-96-400, Il-114,
Airbus A310, Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Airbus A330 (no more than 1 time per day)
Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777,
Sukhoi Superjet 100, ATR-42, ATR-72, Bombardier Q Series, Fokker-50, Fokker-100,
Aircraft of class III, IV without restrictions.
In 2015, a Boeing 787 landed at the airport.
Fuel
The airport is provided with aviation fuel TS-1 by the East Siberian Fuel Company via the Angarsk - Irkutsk Airport kerosene trunk pipeline with a length of 60.5 km from the Angarsk Petrochemical Company, fuel is delivered to aircraft through the airport using tanker trucks. Fuel supply to airlines is carried out by JSC "East Siberian Fuel Company" and LLC "TKK-Irkutsk".
ETOPS alternate airfield
The airport is located near the Trans-Siberian and cross-polar routes from Europe and North America to Southeast Asia, on which flights are operated according to ETOPS rules.
In August 2000, the Boeing aircraft company, together with the Ministry of Transport, the FAA and interested airlines, conducted an assessment of the operational characteristics and safety of the airport, as a result of which it was confirmed that it could be used as a spare for extended-range flights of aircraft with two gas turbine engines (ETOPS).
Joint basing
JSC Irkutsk International Airport is the main operator of the Irkutsk Airfield, a joint—based civil airfield. In addition to civil aviation, the airfield is home to the state —2nd Separate Aviation Squadron of the Siberian District of the Russian Guard (v/ h 3543), which was established on March 31, 1980 and formed in 1981 on the basis of the expanded 1st separate Aviation Squadron of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk-Central). In 1987, the squadron was relocated to Chita (Chita-1 Cheryomushki), and in 2007 — to Irkutsk. The squadron consists of five multi-purpose Mi-8 helicopters and one An-26 transport aircraft.
Also, joint basing of aircraft of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia is allowed at the airfield.
Route network
In 2021, 17 airlines operate flights on more than 50 routes. Moscow makes the greatest contribution to passenger traffic.
