Azimuth Airlines to mostly operate from new Platov Airport

The Russian startup airline launched this September (Azimuth Airlines)

Russia’s startup regional carrier Azimuth Airlines will operate more that half of its flights out of home base at Rostov-on-Don’s scratch-built Platov airport. The provision is part of the agreement between the operator, the Rostov Region administration, and Airports of Regions, which manages the newly built airport.

As a base airline at Platov, Azimuth will have to perform more than 50% of its flights from that airport, among other conditions. In its turn, Airport of Regions will provide all the necessary infrastructure for the carrier’s operations.

Platov is to become operational in December 2017. It will replace Rostov’s existing airport, which is facing expansion restrictions for being located within city limits. The new airport’s completion will meet the timeline of the FIFA World Cup? which Russia is hosting in 2018. The facility needs a base carrier with a ramified route network that would bring in passengers.

Azimuth Airlines launched regular flights in September this year. It is currently flying from Rostov’s existing airport. The carrier’s earlier plans called for connecting destinations within Russia’s Southern and North Caucasus districts with cities across the rest of the country. Its fleet consists of Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 jetliners, and is expected to reach 16 aircraft by 2022.

As of June this year, the airline was owned by Vitaliy Vantsev, a co-owner of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, and by Pavel Udod, former deputy director of Yakutiya Airlines. The regional administration is expected to become a shareholder in the airline through a secondary offering, which will be purchased by the administration-owned regional development corporation.