Sources: Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (see also provisional 2018 statistics)[1]
Perm International Airport (
Russian: Международный аэропорт Пермь) (
IATA: PEE,
ICAO: USPP) is an
international airport located at Bolshoye Savino, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southwest of the city of
Perm,
Russia. It is the only airport in
Perm Krai with scheduled
commercial flights, and serves as Perm's main civilian airport, with
bus and
minibus services operating during the daytime to the city's main
bus terminus.
On 1 May 1960, Boris Ajvazyan and
Sergei Safronov, two pilots of the 764th Fighter Aviation Regiment involved in the
interception of the United States U-2 spy aircraft, were stationed at Bolshoye Savino. During the incident, Safronov was accidentally killed by
friendly fire while piloting his
MiG-19, which had been scrambled to intercept the
U-2 piloted by
Gary Powers. A Soviet
SAM site fired a salvo of
S-75 Dvina missiles at the U-2, downing it, but the strike was mistakenly read to be a miss. Another salvo was fired, however, Safronov was accidentally targeted due to his plane having outdated
IFF codes.[3]
In 1965, Bolshoye Savino became the main civilian airport for Perm, replacing the nearby
Bakharevka Airport. It was re-purposed as a joint civil-military airport, and began servicing medium-sized
airliners with 39 parking spots, a terminal and a cargo area. During the
Cold War, the airfield operated up to 38
MiG-25 interceptors, with a number of
Yak-25, and
Yak-28 aircraft and received modern
MiG-31s in 1991.[4] In 2002, the
runway was lengthened from 2,500 to 3,200 meters.
Reconstruction and new terminal
Phase 1
In 2012, with increasing traffic and the need for regional flights, the government started making plans for an improvement project that would include a new passenger terminal with an annual capacity of 2 million passengers by 2020, as well as other minor improvements. Further expansion by 2035 was going to include doubling the floor area of the terminal, as well as building multi-level car parks, office space, hotels, a shopping mall and an aircraft hangar. Perm citizens have chosen to retain the name "Bolshoye Savino" for the new terminal.[5]
The new terminal was officially opened on 30 November 2017.[6] International flights are currently served by the old terminal.[7] The first international flights were expected to be launched in March 2018.[8]
Phase 2
Currently, the boarding on the aircraft is done by
apron buses, but
jet bridges are planned to be installed. This phase was scheduled to be finished in 2019, but due to heavy rains during spring and summer, there is a delay in construction process.[9][10]
Aeroflot Flight 821, operated by
Aeroflot-Nord in a service agreement with
Aeroflot,[25] crashed on approach on 14 September 2008, killing all 88 people on board. One of the pilots was found to be intoxicated by alcohol.[26][27]