Mariupol International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт Маріуполь, russian: Международный аэропорт Мариуполь) , previously known as Zhdanov Airport, is the currently closed main

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

of the large, industrial city and port of

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

and is located 5 km from the city. The airport is situated on the extreme south-eastern part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) 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 . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

near the border with

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 ...

. The airport had domestic, international and charter flights. The airport is a Class "B" airfield suitable for the operation of aircraft of all types (categories A, B, C, D, and E). There have been no regular flights since 2009, and the airport has been closed since 19 June 2014, because of the war in the Donbas region.

History

The airport's history began in 1930 when project Mariupol Airport started (officially named Zhdanov Airport �данов Аеропортat the time of construction because the city was named Zhdanov until 1989). The first flight was made on a Putilov Stal-3 from Mariupol to

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

in the spring of 1931. However, due to economic problems, the airport was inactive until the autumn of 1932 and did not establish regular flights before the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1967, the airport underwent new constructions with the runway and the airport terminal. In its heyday (during the

Soviet Era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

), the airport transported up to 120,000 passengers a year. There were 30 to 40 flights a day, and during the summer the airport served up to 25,000 passengers per month. However, after the

collapse of Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, and the fall of

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

(the airport's primary airline), airline service and passenger travel declined and the airport became inactive. Until 1993, the airport was a member of the

Donetsk United Squadron Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

, and on 26 May 1993, Mariupol Airport was registered as a

state enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

. Construction of a new terminal building which could handle 200+ passengers per hour was launched in February 2003. Also, a new

ramp An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

was constructed, and the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

underwent minor repairs with installation of ILS on Runway 20. In 2004, the airport transported over 11,000 passengers. In 2006, 18,000 passengers were transported, and in 2007 more than 20,000. On 26 May 2004, the airport received the status of

International Airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, and on 7 November 2005, the

State Aviation Administration of Ukraine The State Aviation Administration of Ukraine ( uk, Державна авіаційна служба України) is an agency of the Ukrainian government under the Ministry of Infrastructure responsible for civil aviation. The head office is i ...

issued the Certificate of Conformity (''MCI-00-04-02-01'') which allowed airport to service

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

passengers A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

, and

air cargo Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail. Aircraft types Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft: * Passenger aircraft use the ...

. The airport was closed in June 2014, when Mariupol was engulfed in a fierce fighting between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists. The airport was taken over by the Russian forces on March 18th, 2022.

Terminal

The terminal includes two departure and arrival lounges along with a

baggage claim 200px, Baggage carousel In airport terminals, a baggage reclaim area is an area where arriving passengers claim checked-in baggage after disembarking from an airline flight. The alternative term baggage claim is used at airports in the US and ...

area which services both domestic and international flights. Airport has a VIP lounge for passengers traveling in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

class. Terminal is also outfitted with

gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...

and food stalls, a

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, and

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

. Between 1968 and 1970 the artist

Victor Arnautoff Victor Mikhail Arnautoff (born Uspenovka, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire, November 11, 1896 – died Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, March 22, 1979) was a Russian-American painter and professor of art. He worked in San Francisco and ...

decorated the airport terminal with mosaic friezes. 450px 450px

Incidents and accidents

*On 30 March 1977, an

Yakovlev 40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Yak ...

(CCCP-87738) flight from

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

was approaching airport visually in

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

. The crew continued their visual approach even after entering an area of fog with visibility less than and losing sight of the ground. When deciding to

go around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unstab ...

, the right wing hit a pole at a height of . The wing caught fire, and the number 2 engine failed. With a progressive roll the aircraft flew at an angle of 40-45 degrees until the right wing touched the ground. The

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

hit the ground sideways in a field about from the runway. The airplane broke up and caught fire. There were 8 fatalities (4 of them were crew) out of 27 occupants. The aircraft was written off (damaged beyond repair). Incident of CCCR-87738
- Retrieved on October 17, 2011.

References

External links

Official website
(down) {{authority control 1931 establishments in Ukraine 2014 disestablishments in Ukraine Airports established in 1931 Airports disestablished in 2014 Airports built in the Soviet Union Defunct airports in Ukraine Transport in Mariupol Buildings and structures in Mariupol Buildings and structures in Donetsk Oblast

History

Terminal

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

External links