Map - Simferopol International Airport (Simferopol International Airport)

Simferopol International Airport (Simferopol International Airport)
Simferopol International Airport (Міжнародний аеропорт "Сімферополь", Mizhnarodnyy aeroport "Simferopol’"; Международный аэропорт "Симферополь", Mezhdunarodnyy aeroport "Simferopol’"; Aqmescit Halqara Ava Limanı, Акъмесджит Халкъара Ава Лиманы) (Russian AIP: URFF, УРФФ ) is an airport in Simferopol, de facto the capital of the Republic of Crimea. Built in 1936, the airport today has one international terminal and one domestic terminal.

On 14 May 2015, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted to rename it Amet-khan Sultan International Airport in memory of Amet-khan Sultan, despite that Russia occupied Crimea and controlled the airport since 2014. Another airport named after Amet-khan Sultan is Uytash Airport located in Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia. However, in 2018, Russian citizens voted for the airport to be named after the painter Ivan Aivazovsky after Amet-khan's name was not allowed in the list of final three options to vote for despite being the most popular in the preliminary round of voting.

Since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the airport is only used for flights to and from Russian airports due to limited international recognition of the annexation.

On 21 January 1936, the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Republic decided to allocate land and begin construction of the Simferopol Airport. Simferopol to Moscow flights began in May 1936. Before the Second World War, regular air travel was established between Simferopol and Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other airports. In 1957, a terminal was commissioned. Lighting equipment was installed on a dirt runway and IL-12, IL-14, and Mi-4 aircraft began landing at the airport. In 1960, a concrete runway with an apron and parking areas was constructed. The airport began to operate around the clock and in adverse weather conditions, using new aircraft such as Antonov An-10 and IL-18. In the 1950s and 1960s, the AN-2 carried cargo and passenger flights to regional centers of the Crimea, and the Mi-4 flew to Yalta. In the summer of 1960, a squadron of Tu-104 was organized for the first time in Ukrainian SSR. Starting in 1964, the An-24 was based at the airport.

Construction of the second runway, designed for IL-86, IL-76, IL-62, and Tu-154 aircraft, began in 1977. On 19 May 1982, Simferopol airport was the first in Ukrainian SSR to have a wide-IL-86. In subsequent years, this type of aircraft made an average of 5.6 daily flights to Moscow. In the summer of 1989, the airport was designated as a "western alternate airport" for landing the Buran spacecraft. In the early 2000s, the old runway 01R/19L (length 2700 m, PCN 22/R/B/X/T, accommodating a maximum weight of aircraft of 98 tonnes) was taken out of service because of its insufficient length and strength. Since then, it has been used as taxiway D with a length of 2100 m (the remaining 600 meters are unsuitable for taxiing). The second runway (01/19) is now in operation and is longer, wider and accommodates heavier aircraft.

Following the 2014 Crimean crisis pro-Russian militia forces took control of the airport on 28 February 2014. Crimean airspace was closed and air traffic was disrupted for two days. On 11 March, Russian forces took over the control tower and closed Crimean airspace until the end of week. Ukraine International Flight PS65 was denied landing and diverted to Kyiv. With the Russian Takeover of the Airport, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed concerns about the safety of international flights in the region and recommended airlines to avoid Crimean airspace. By the same token on 3 March 2014, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), who also did not recognize the unilateral takeover of Ukrainian airspace by another country, had confirmed that the majority of transitional air routes have been closed, in accordance with the Chicago Convention. Ukrainian airlines also suspended routes to Simferopol.

Under the Russian control (Russia not being a member of Eurocontrol), the airport operates flights only to destinations in Russia. In June 2014, Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a Government resolution No.960 to open the airport for international flights, however, as of March 2016 no international flights were operated. On 29 July 2014, Rosaviation granted Chechen airline Grozny Avia permission to operate nonstop flights from Simferopol to the Armenian capital of Yerevan and Turkish cities of Istanbul and Antalya. However, these flights were technically domestic since they operated with a stopover in Anapa. Both of the routes were suspended the same year.

In May 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament voted in favor of renaming the Simferopol airport in honor of the Crimean-Tatar war hero Amet-khan Sultan. The airport's management team has responded that the authority to decree such changes is vested in the Russian government, and that they do not feel the need to respond to the Ukrainian parliament's ruling. Russian State Duma deputy, Vasiliy Likhachyov, has also released a statement dismissing this ruling as having no official authority.

In May 2016, construction began of a new terminal building, with a larger hall on a wave-like structure and 8 gates for flights. The new terminal was opened on 16 April 2018, with the first arrival at 8:30 AM of Nordwind Airlines from Moscow-Sheremetyevo, followed by other flights. The terminal was previously checked by 400 volunteers on 12 April 2018. The current terminal will be for VIP, business passengers and some space is going to be converted to the trolleybus and bus terminal.

This new terminal is 1 km west from the old terminal, between the main runway and the old one, making the eastern part of the airport useless. Eventually, the old runway (01R/19L) will be rebuilt and, with the runways being spaced >1 km apart, would be capable of parallel runway operations, like at Domodedovo, Berlin or Munich. The new terminal has 8 gates to air-bridges and 8 gates to apron buses, 16 escalators and 28 lifts, 55 check-in counters and the airport terminal is able to handle 6 million passenger annually. 
 IATA Code SIP  ICAO Code UKFF  FAA Code
 Telephone +380 (652) 295516  Fax +380 (652) 274343  Email
 Home page Hyperlink  Facebook  Twitter
Map - Simferopol International Airport (Simferopol International Airport)
Country - Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine
Ukraine (Україна, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately 600000 km2. Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, it was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. It is also bordered by Belarus to the north; by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and by Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.

During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was ultimately destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately absorbed by the Russian Empire. Ukrainian nationalism developed, and following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a man-made famine. During World War II, Ukraine was devastated by the German occupation.
Map - Ukraine1546px-Ukraine_location_map.svg.png
1546px-Ukraine_locat...
1546x1038
freemapviewer.org
Map - Ukraineukraine_adm93.jpg
ukraine_adm93.jpg
1000x1045
freemapviewer.org
Map - Ukraineukraine_pol_1991.jpg
ukraine_pol_1991.jpg
1034x1080
freemapviewer.org
Map - UkraineUkraine_relief_location_map.jpg
Ukraine_relief_locat...
1720x1157
freemapviewer.org
Map - UkraineUkraine_regions_map.png
Ukraine_regions_map....
2600x1764
freemapviewer.org
Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
UAH Ukrainian hryvnia â‚´ 2
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  Belarus 
  •  Hungary 
  •  Moldova 
  •  Poland 
  •  Romania 
  •  Russia 
  •  Slovakia