Basel Aero Group opens new airport
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 07.06.2010 |
The opening ceremony was held for Gelendzhik Airport, part of Basic Element subsidiary Basel Aero, on June 5, 2010.
Deputy Russian Transport Minister Valery Okulov, Deputy Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Dzhambulat Khatuov, General Director of the Basel Aero Group of Airports Sergei Likharev, and representatives of the Civilian Airports Administration, Federal Civil Aviation Agency and other government agencies and airport partners attended the ceremony.
"This is the first completely new airport to have been built in Russia for many years," said Deputy Transport Minister Valery Okulov. "We must under no circumstances draw a line under the project here: the airport has the potential and opportunity for growth," Okulov said.
"Flights to Gelendzhik are, on average, fuller than flights to Sochi and Anapa," said General Director of the Basel Aero Group of Airports Sergei Likharev. "This indicates that the airport is in demand and will grow. Gelendzhik, like the other Basel Aero airports, will be attracting new carriers and expanding its route network, as well as introducing new services for passengers and airline partners alike. The development of the airport business in the Krasnodar Territory will facilitate economic growth and prosperity in the region," Likharev said.
"The Territory's air gateway now includes five airports," said Deputy Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Dzhambulat Khatuov. "The combined resources of the state, the Krasnodar Territorial administration, municipal administration and private investment by Basel Aero, were used to build Gelendzhik Airport. Some 2 million of the 30 million passengers arriving in the Krasnodar Territory each year do so by plane, and the new airport will increase the flow of tourists into the Territory," Khatuov said.
Basel Aero, part of the Basic Element Group's Aviation Sector, operates airports in Krasnodar, Sochi, Yeisk, Gelendzhik and Anapa. Basel Aero's airports handle just under 9% of all Russia's air passengers. The Group's airports handled 3.5 million passengers in 2009.
The Gelendzhik airport's runway is 3,100 meters long and is capable of accepting Tak-42, Tu-134, Tu-154, Boeing-737, Boeing-757-200, A-319, A-320 and lighter aircraft. The terminal is capable of handling 140 passengers per hour. The airport has already started accepting flights by leading airlines like Aeroflot, Rossiya, Urals Airlines, UTair, Gazpromavia, Avianova and Atlant-Soyuz. It plans 57 flights per week or seven or eight per day during the summer season. It is already possible to fly to Gelendzhik from Moscow, St Petersburg and Novosibirsk and efforts are under way to secure new key routes to cities like Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen and Yekaterinburg. Basel Aero, the airport operator, plans to bring new carriers in, to expand the route network and introduce additional services for the airport's passengers and partners.
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