Provideniya Bay Airport (russian: Аэропорт «Бухта Провидения») (also Urelik and Ureliki) is a small airport in Chukotka,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

located 3 km southwest of

Provideniya Provideniya ( rus, Провиде́ния, p=prəvʲɪˈdʲenʲɪjə; Chukchi: ) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on Komsomolskay ...

. It services primarily small transport aircraft. A concrete apron contains four parking spaces.

Military history

In 1954, an 8,200 ft (2,500 m) hard surface runway capable of supporting a fighter regiment and jet bomber deployments was constructed.THE SOVIET ARCTIC
CIA-RDP79T01018A000300010001-0, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, July 1, 1959. This attracted the interest of the US intelligence community as Provideniya was the closest Soviet military airfield to the United States. By 1964, at least three

S-75 Dvina The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system, built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the most w ...

(SA-2) surface-to-air missile sites were identified surrounding the airfield. A division of

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...

Fresco and

MiG-19 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...

aircraft was based at the airport between 1960 and 1968, along with three

Mil Mi-4 The Mil Mi-4 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 36", NATO reporting name "Hound") is a Soviet transport helicopter that served in both military and civilian roles. Design and development The Mi-4 was designed in response to the American H-19 Chick ...

helicopters. However after the Cold War, the airfield had deteriorated and was not adequate for Russia's modern military operations. There are anecdotal reports that it has received Tupolev Tu-95MR deployment flights as part of military exercises.

Civilian history

This airport was famous for the 1988 flight of

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...

known as the Friendship Flight at that time, as well as a similar

Bering Air Bering Air is an American airline headquartered in Nome, Alaska, United States. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter airline services, as well as air ambulance and helicopter services. Its main base is Nome Airport, with hubs at ...

flight in May of the same year. On 25 July 2005, a Swedish Airforce

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

Hercules landed in Provideniya Bay, bringing in an international research team from the Beringia 2005 expedition, organized by the

Swedish Polar Research Secretariat The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (Swedish: ''Polarforskningssekretariatet'') is a government agency in charge of coordinating and promoting Swedish polar research activities. It is located in Stockholm, has more than 30 employees, and ser ...

. The airport itself and the surrounding towns are not accessible to foreigners without a special permit from the Russian government.

Airlines and destinations

Chukotavia operates infrequent service to the regional capital

Anadyr Anadyr may refer to: *Anadyr (town), a town and the administrative center of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr District *Anadyr Estuary *Anadyr (river), a river in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia *Anadyr Highlands *Anadyr Lowlands *Operati ...

, usually 3-5 times a month. It also operates scheduled helicopter services around the region using a

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to ...

, such as to

Enmelen Enmelen (russian: Энмеле́н; Chukchi: , ''Ènmyḷ'yn''; Yupik: ) is a village ('' selo'') in Providensky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. Population: Municipally, Enmelen is subordinat ...

Egvekinot Egvekinot (russian: Эгвекино́т; Chukchi language, Chukchi: , ''Èrvyḳynnot'', lit. ''sharp, hard land'')Fute, p. 125 is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative ce ...

and

Lavrentiya Lavrentiya (russian: Лавре́нтия, Yupik: Ӄышы; Chukchi: Ӄытрын, ''Ḳytryn''; Naukan: ''Qerre'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Chukotsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, locate ...

. Bering Air operates chartered tourist flights several times a year using small aircraft such as

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With c ...

and

CASA C-212 Aviocar The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 w ...

References

World Aero Data
Bering Air Alaska

External links

Flying to Russia on the New VFR Route - A General Guide
- Federal Aviation Administration / Alaskan Region
FAA description of the B369 VFR route Nome-Provideniya

Swedish C130 at Provideniya Bay Airport
{{authority control Russian Air Force bases Soviet Air Force bases Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Providensky District