Thursday 11 August 2016, 12:38

Volgograd's gateway transforming ahead of World Cup

On 10 August, a new international terminal was opened at Volgograd Airport that will welcome visitors to the city during the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.

The maiden flight from Terminal C was bound for Moscow. Now it will only run domestic trips, but this will have changed in nearest future when the terminal will be serving international destinations.

Renovating the airport and significantly increasing its traffic capacity are some of Volgograd's main objectives in the build-up to Russia 2018. For example, a year ago the international terminal could only serve 100 passengers an hour, which was clearly not enough for the city. Thanks to the FIFA World Cup, international passenger flow will increase to 300 people an hour and Volgograd will benefit from excellent opportunities for further development.

The city's plans are not just limited to one new international terminal. The decision has been made to create a modern transport and logistics centre based at Volgograd Airport, including new transport terminals, bus stations and railway stations.

The opening of an international terminal is merely the first step towards achieving the overall aim. The airport will reach its planning operating capacity by 2018, when passenger flow will increase to 1450 people an hour. With this in mind, a temporary terminal for domestic flights able to serve up to 300 people an hour will be built specially for the World Cup.

The airport already has genuine reasons to be proud of itself. Alongside the launch of the new terminal, which is equipped with a three-tier security system and allows passengers to check-in for flights electronically, a new runway was opened in Volgograd in July. One of its features is a navigation system that means planes can touch down safely in low visibility. You can only find similar systems in Moscow and St Petersburg elsewhere in the country.

“I don't doubt that by the time World Cup matches are being hosted here in 2018, we will have a fully- functional aviation complex,” declared Volgograd Regional Governor Andrei Bocharov.