At the moment, Zhukovsky has only one runway, but it’s the longest in Europe – 5.5 kilometers. No airline has confirmed it will fly from the new airport, but according to Vedomosti daily sources, airlines from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are expected to begin operations.
The owners of the airport intend to get about 70 percent of the revenues from parking, retail, office centers, freight terminals and other business activities not directly connected to flights. In 2017, Zhukovsky is scheduled to become the first Russian airport to list an IPO.
One of the main drawbacks of the new airport is poor transport accessibility. At present, it has no direct express train service which is available at the other Moscow airports, and cars are likely to get stuck in traffic jams.
Russian Railways intends to rebuild the closest train station to the airport (about 35 minutes from Kazansky railway terminal), which will be connected to the airport by a shuttle.
Before Zhukovsky opened, Moscow had three international airports – Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo.
Source: Russia Today – Published time: 30 May, 2016 10:01