Airports

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History.

The first civil airplane took off from Tolmachevo Airport on July 12, 1957. It was a TU-104 with 50 passengers on board. Flight 020 from Novosibirsk to Moscow opened a new page in the history of the airport. Prior to this, only warplanes had taken off from the airfield near Novosibirsk. During the five subsequent decades, Tolmachevo grew into an international airport and is now a key junction for the region and one of the five major federal airports.

Today.

Currently, about 50 airlines enjoy the services of the airport. Tolmachevo Airport accepts passengers in two terminals and can service all passenger and cargo planes. The Airport of Novosibirsk is the largest transit junction beyond the Urals- the dividing point between Europe and Asia. Factors such as the concentration of railway, automobile, and water transport arteries, the expanding trade and economic relations of the Siberian Federal District with foreign and Russian partners, and the developing the infrastructure of the region all favor the development of Tolmachevo as a major hub for air transportation. Additionally, cargo transportation from Europe to southeast Asia, China and Korea, as well as cross-polar flights travel through Tolmachevo. The advantageous geographic location of the airport enables it to be used as a transit junction where connections between long-distance flights can be made. At present, the size of the runway allows for 18 takeoffs/landings per hour. Off the runway, there are 62 places for aircrafts of all types and 17 are equipped with centralized fuelling systems.

Future.

According to the general plan of development for Tolmachevo Airport, a second runway will be built by 2009 as well as new passenger and cargo terminals, a 3 and 4-star hotel, a covered car park, a logistic centre, an on-board food plant, an exposition and meeting centre and a multipurpose trade and entertainment centre. The total investments into the infrastructure of the airport will top $870 million. By 2015, the airport is expected to be able to service 5.5 million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo per year.

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