Rossiya Airlines to move from Vnukovo to Sheremetyevo

The carrier is one of Vnukovo’s three largest operators, alongside Pobeda Airlines and UTair Aviation (Leonid Faerberg / Transport-Photo.com)

Rossiya Airlines is in the process of changing its Moscow base airport from Vnukovo to Sheremetyevo, Dmitriy Kaygorodov, Sheremetyvo’s deputy general director for passenger services and aircraft handling, told Russian Aviation Insider on the sidelines of the NAIS 2018 international airport convention in Moscow. It will share the new airport with its parent carrier Aeroflot.

“We expect Rossiya Airines to have all its flights transferred from Vnukovo to Sheremetyevo this autumn,” Kaygorodov said.

Commenting on airport’s preparations for accommodating the second largest airline in Russia, Kaygorodov noted: “We have reserved capacities for them at terminals D and F, and will provide them with the space required for operations inside the terminal. The facilities are ready; we have also reserved apron space, warehouses, and offices.”

Sheremetyevo has additionally elaborated a plan to recruit additional staff through October 2018. “We will certainly have no capacity shortages to fully accommodate Rossiya,” Kaygorodov stressed, adding that the airport’s third runway is expected to become operational this year.

Vnukovo CEO Vasiliy Alexandrov told media that his airport will have to attract new carriers by this coming fall in order to compensate for Rossiya’s exit. According to his forecast, Vnukovo’s traffic will reach 18.5 million passengers in 2018.

Rossiya Airines is one of Vnukovo’s three largest base carrierrs, alongside the LCC Pobeda Airlines. Both are sister companies of Aeroflot, which is based at Sheremetyevo. In December last year alone, Rossiya’s traffic through Vnukovo amounted to 289,500 passengers, or 21.8% of the airport’s entire traffic.