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The year 2008 saw Vnukovo International maintain its positive passenger growth dynamic. A review of the past year’s operating results set the total number of passengers welcomed at 7 million 992 thousand, a 16,7 percent improvement over 2007. The 2 million 919 thousand passengers of the recorded total, traveled on international flights, while the bulk of 5 million 003 thousand traveled domestically, improving the Airport’s 2007 results by 13, 6 percent and 18,6 percent accordingly. The results were announced by Pytor Aksenov, Chairman of the Board of JSC Vnukovo Airport at a news conference on the Airport’s 2008 operating results, which took place in Moscow.
Mr, Aksenov went on to add that the global economic recession accompanied by a slump in demand for air travel services, is liable to cause a slight drop [of up to 5 percent] in Vnukovo’s passenger numbers. The Airport expects to welcome some 7,5 to 7,6 million air travelers in the current year.
Pyotr Aksenov termed a positive development the fact that the Airport has been consistently meeting its passenger throughput targets over several years running.
Vasily Alexandrov, Director General of JSC Vnukovo Airport stated during the news conference that Vnukovo Airport, while retaining the third position among the airports nationwide, has upped its share of the Moscow Air Traffic Cluster’s total air passenger traffic from 17,2 to 18,2 percent.
Also noted at the news conference was the fact that a number of new scheduled destinations had been added to the Airport’s route network over the past year, such as Krasnoyarsk, Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Nizhnekamsk, Norilsk, Chita, Magadan, Orsk, Yeisk, Tambov, Ivanovo, Frankfurt-Main (Hahn), Damascus, Athens, Mahe Island (the Seychelles), Dushanbe, Tashkent, Minsk, Liepaya. The most in-demand routes were those to Yekaterinburg, Saint Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Arkhangelsk, Irkutsk, Grozny, Samara, Krasnoyarsk, Barcelona, Yerevan, Heraklion, Dushanbe, Antalya, Hurghada, Brno, Vilnius.
A total of 150 air carriers, both international and domestic, have operated out of Vnukovo International throughout 2008. The Airport’s top ten carriers in terms of passenger numbers were UTair, Atlant-Soyuz, Sky Express, Red Wings, Kavminvodyavia, Vladivostok Avia, Kuban Airlines, STC Russia, Gazpromavia, Yakutia. The above carriers accounted for up to 83 percent of the Airport’s total passenger numbers for the past year.
A total of 139,9 thousand flights was handled at Vnukovo Intl. last year, a 14,7 percent improvement against 2007.
The Airport handled a total 25,2 thousand tons of in-/outbound mail & cargo in 2008, improving its indicator for the preceding year by 10,5 percent . Messrs. UTair, Valdivostok Avia, The 224th Flight Detachment, Yakutia, Kavminvodiavia, Daghestan Airlines, Kuban Airlines, and Gazpromavia led the way in terms of mail & cargo carried on their flights. Principal cargo routes: Intrafederal destinations - 85 percent of total [mail &] cargo carried, the CIS & overseas destinations – 2 percent and 13 percent of the total cargo volume accordingly.
Last year also brought a significant increase in the number of passengers who used the Aeroexpress high-speed rail link service between the Airport and Kievsky Train Station in mid-town Moscow. A total of 1 million 028 of air travelers, meeters, senders and visitors opted to travel to/from the Airport via this [access] route, an impressive 67 percent year-on-year improvement over 2007.
A great deal has been done to upgrade the Airport’s operational infrastructure as part of the Airport Development Master Plan, currently underway at Vnukovo Intl. 2008 saw construction of the underground section of the new passenger Terminal A [, the Master Plan’s cornerstone project ], completed. A unique civil engineering solution was implemented at this point in time, allowing to join the Terminal’s underground section to the underground train station, where the trains inbound from Moscow terminate. Work is currently in progress on erecting the Terminal’s bulk above-ground section.
The project under implementation envisages a passenger terminal facility with the total floorspace offer of 250 square meters and comprising five main public-access levels, including the one underground. Terminal A, once operational, will significantly boost Vnukovo Itl.’s passenger throughput capacity, allowing the Airport to handle up to 20 million passengers annually by the year 2015, while maintaining international standards of customer service all along.
Also this past year, the construction of a 2,5 kilometer-long , two-level elevated highway, adjoining the facades of all Vnukovo’s mainline terminals and spanning the entire airport forecourt, was competed. Apart from serving as the Airport’s principal passenger curbside pickup/drop-off area, this highway will also join the airport forecourt with the Kievskoye and Borovskoye Highways.
A significant portion of the airfield infrastructure upgrade was also completed. In particular, Vnukovo’s RWY2 was fully renovated, an all-new ATC facility/tower was commissioned, a further 38 AC stands with the total area of 200 thousand square meters, was constructed and put into operation.
The past year also saw the construction of the new 57 thousand-square-meter Mail & Cargo facility continue. The new Terminal’s design [cargo throughput] capacity stands at 150 thousand tons annually. All the principal structural work on the facility has been completed by the present time and the remaining indoor/outdoor engineering facilities installation and completion works are proceeding as scheduled.
The construction of the new hotel facility has also continued apace in the Airport's forecourt all through 2008. The building's monolithic structure is fully in place by now with the engineering, facade-glazing, and roofing work proceeding according to schedule. The external engineering communications works have also gone ahead.
The year 2008 also saw the implementation of a number of cutting-edge IT solutions in the Airport's twin domains of operations and finance & accounting. In paricular the gradual phase-in of the GroundStar ERM Suite has continued all through the year.
This IT solution, a first for Russia, allows the Airport to implement a comprehensive approach to automating its passenger hroughput capacity, and embraces the entrire scope of operatons at Vnukovo International. Furthermore, a comprehensive airport real-estate management solution was implemented in 2008. The SAP ERP Financials document solution implementation was finalized . The Airport's IT Division also completed a scheduled upgrade of Vnukovo's AODB that involved among other things the integration therenito of a variety of novel IT systems.
Particular emphasis was made on improving the security system and operating procedures in place throughout the Airport's mainline passenger terminals. Vnukovo's status of a government ops. facility imposes particular security demands and responsibility on the airport top management requiring the implemenation of extra security measures and precautions. It was with these specific requirements in mind that an all-new centrally-controlled terminal security system was introduced last year.
The implementation of the Airport's ambitious Masterplan will contunue in 2009. Construction of Stages 1 and 2 of the new passenger Terminal A (173 thousand and 50 thousand squaremeters of floorspace accordingly) is due for completion in 2009, and sometime in July the unveiling and opeational entry of the new Mail & Cargo Facility is expected.
The IT Division action plan for 2009 calls for the cabling, wiring and IT system integration works to commence on the new Terminal A, as well as for the installation of self-service check-in kiosks throughout Vnukovo's existing terminall facilities, and the enhancement of the web check-in functionality and service. A host of other works aimed at dramatically improving Vnukovo's customer service levels is also envisaged.
The progress made at Vnukovo so far with regard to the implementation of the Airport Masterplan, allows to speak of the Airport's stable development and growth. The VKO Masterplan is also a milestone as it were for Russia's air transport industry as a whole. Vnukovo International has already positioned itself as one of the most modern and technologically savvy and advanced airports in the Russian Federation.
Vnukovo Airport Press Service
www.vnukovo.ru
Translated into English by
the Website Editorial Office staff
JSC Vnukovo Handling
e-mail: mm@vnukovo.ru
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