Ulyanovsk Bratayevka airport to reopen in September

Ulyanovsk Bratayevka International Airport (also known as Ulyanovsk Tsentralny), which is currently under reconstruction, is likely to reopen in late August instead of May as originally planned, Kommersant daily reports, citing the airport’s director Sergey Nakonechny.
The regional administration explains that the timeline slipped due to delayed deliveries of navigational aids, in particular an SP-200 instrument landing system. In Russia such systems are owned by the state, and their use managed by the aviation authorities.
The system destined for Ulyanovsk had been temporarily installed at Krasnodar Airport, which is currently also under renovation. Krasnodar was originally supposed to send in the SP-200 in April, but its own reconstruction schedule had slipped several month, which means that the delivery is now expected in early June, commented Dmity Vavilin, the region’s minister of industry, construction and transport.
The airlines whose future flights would be affected by the disruptions at Bratayevka have already adjusted their plans accordingly. Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot confirmed having received an official notice to the effect that the airport would reopen on September 1. The carrier had repeatedly postponed the launch of Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) flights to Bratayevka in the past, and has now rescheduled it for early September.
The city is served by another international airport, Ulyanovsk Vostochny. Aeroflot has no plans to fly there, citing technical and servicing reasons. Another carrier, RusLine, decided against canceling its plans and launched operations to Vostochny with a view to transferring them to Bratayevka in September.
Bratayevka received its international status in 2014, making Ulyanovsk the second Russian city after Moscow with more than one international airport. The airport’s terminal was renovated with funds from the regional administration. In June last year Bratayevka closed for runway reconstruction. Its runway is on the books of Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation Institute. The project has also seen delays; it was originally expected to be completed in November 2016.
Bratayevka served 178,900 passengers in 2015. The regional ministry estimates that the airport’s annual combined domestic and international traffic may reach 640,000 passengers by 2030.
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