Princess Olga Pskov International Airport

Princess Olga Pskov International Airport (Russian: Международный аэропорт Псков имени княгини Ольги^[2] [3]) (IATA: PKV, ICAO: ULOO) is an airfield in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Pskov. It has been used for many decades as a military airbase and has had periods of time in which it was also utilized as a commercial airport.

Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty Аэропорт Псков имени княгини Ольги
IATA: PKV ICAO: ULOO
Summary
Airport type	Military / Public
Operator	Pskovavia
Location	Pskov, Pskov Oblast, Russia
Elevation AMSL	154 ft / 47 m
Coordinates	57°47′6″N 028°23′54″E / 57.78500°N 28.39833°E / 57.78500; 28.39833
Website	pskovavia.ru
Map
Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty Location of airport in Pskov Oblast Show map of Pskov Oblast Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty Princess Olga Pskov Airport Pskov-Kresty (Russia) Show map of Russia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 01/19 2,514^[1] 8,248 Concrete

It is a medium air base with 27 large revetments in a complex, sprawling taxiway layout and home to the 334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment as part of the 12th Military Transport Aircraft Division of Military Transport Aviation which flies the Ilyushin Il-76.^[4] The civilian terminal area services up to 13 medium/large planes and 20 small planes. There is no instrument landing capability.

History

 

Control tower

The airfield dates to the 1930s, when it became a host base for one of the Soviet Airforce regiments. Under the German Nazi occupation, it was used by the Luftwaffe to supply advancing Wehrmacht troops.^[5][6]

After WWII, some commercial use of the airport was used for commuter services to local airfields in Pskov oblast (Velikie Luki, Gdov, Samolva, etc.) and for scheduled flights to Moscow, Leningrad, Riga], Tartu, Vitebsk, Kharkiv, Simferopol and other destinations in the European part of the USSR.^{[citation needed]}

By 1955, intelligence sources reported four-engine aircraft operating on a 2500-meter runway.^[7] In the 1960s, the airfield hosted about two dozen Antonov An-10 and Antonov An-12 turboprop transports.^[8] In the 1970s, the aircraft were upgraded to Il-76 jets, operated by the 334 VTAP (334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment).^[9] In 1984, the airbase had a normal complement of 27 Il-76 aircraft.^[10]

Some time prior to the 1980s^{[clarification needed]}, part of the airbase was set aside for commercial activities, while the runway was shared, and a few regular commercial flights began. During the 1990s, regular commercial flights were interrupted due to the economic collapse which caused a significant reduction in the demand for passenger and cargo air service and the closure of all local airfields in Pskov and Leningrad oblasts. After a short-lived air connection to Moscow operated by Eurasia Airlines during 2003, scheduled airline services were not resumed until May 2007.^[11] In the beginning, these services were operated by St. Petersburg-based carrier Vyborg Airlines but have since been taken over by UTair Aviation and Atlant-Soyuz and later discontinued.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, two airlines announced they would serve the airport. Region-Avia started flights to Moscow-Vnukovo and airBaltic announced international services to its Riga hub. The latter services were cancelled in December 2009 due to the state of the runway during winter.

During the 2010s, Pskovavia maintained scheduled flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg with An-24 and An-26 turboprops until the airline's license was revoked. In 2018, Azimuth airline began regular flights to Moscow with its Sukhoi Superjet 100. As of 2020, flights to five Russian airports are maintained.^[12]

Scheduled passenger flights are currently^{[as of?]} operated by Sukhoi Superjet 100, Bombardier CRJ and Let L-410.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 August 2023, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the airbase, destroying four Il-76 jets.^[13][14]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Azimuth	Kaliningrad, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow–Vnukovo,^[15] Sochi^[16]

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at PKV airport. See Wikidata query.

References

1. Length of runway was increased to 2514 m. 2007-05-11 at the Wayback Machine Official site of Pskov region
2. "Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
3. Распоряжение Правительства Российской Федерации от 20 апреля 2016 года № 726-р «Об утверждении перечня аэропортов федерального значения»[1]
4. "Russian Air Force - Pskov (ULOO)". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
5. "Взгляд с другой стороны: Транспортная авиация Люфтваффе на аэродромах Псковщины". ПАИ Новости Псковской области (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-10-04.
6. "Взгляд с другой стороны: Аэродром Кресты". ПАИ Новости Псковской области (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-10-04.
7. , CIA-RDP80-00810A002600080009-6, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, January 21, 1955.
8. , CIA-RDP78B04555A000100040095-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, February 21, 1969.
9. "37 Vozdushnaya Armiya VGK". Brinkster.com.
10. , CIA-RDP84T00491R000100520001-9, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, January 1, 1984.
11. "Regular airline service between Moscow and Pskov has opened". RBC.
12. "Опубликовано расписание рейсов самолётов из псковского аэропорта". ПАИ Новости Псковской области (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-10-04.
13. Wright, George (29 August 2023). "Ukraine war: 'Drone attack' hits airport in northwest Russia city of Pskov". BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
14. Sullivan, Helen (29 August 2023). "Drone strike in Russian city of Pskov reportedly damages heavy transport planes". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
15. "Первый авиарейс "Москва - Псков" приземлился на аэродроме в Крестах". kp.ru. 2 October 2018.
16. Liu, Jim (23 April 2019). "AZIMUTH schedules domestic new routes in S19". Routesonline. Retrieved 23 April 2019.

External links

• Princess Olga Pskov International Airport Official Website (in Russian)
• Airport information for ULOO at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for ULOO at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for PKV at Aviation Safety Network