A significant milestone for southern Russia`s air travel
Today marked a notable event in Krasnodar as the city`s airport received its first passenger flight in three and a half years. An Aeroflot Airbus, originating from Moscow, landed at Pashkovsky Airport carrying a full load of 184 passengers. The journey, however, was longer than before, lasting three hours and 45 minutes compared to the previous two hours.
The Moscow flight arrived at Pashkovsky Airport slightly ahead of schedule. The extended travel time is attributed to a revised flight path, which now involves aircraft approaching Krasnodar from the east, circumventing closed airspace zones over the Caspian Sea and along the Caucasus Mountains. Following its arrival, the same aircraft is scheduled to return to Moscow and later depart for Istanbul.
In addition to Aeroflot, airlines Azimuth, Pobeda, and S7 are expected to operate flights from Krasnodar. Air connections have currently been restored with 13 cities. Aviation expert Ilya Shatilin, editor-in-chief of FrequentFlyers.ru, explained that despite the prolonged flight duration, which now approaches four hours, this resumption is a significant boon for Krasnodar, a major and highly sought-after destination. He noted that the new bypass routes primarily affect domestic flights, while the impact on international routes, such as planned flights to Dubai, Yerevan, or Tambov, is less critical.
Ilya Shatilin
Aviation expert, editor-in-chief of FrequentFlyers.ru
«Aeroflot`s block time is three hours and 55 minutes, whereas previously the flight to Krasnodar took less than two hours. This doubling is due to the fact that all airports in southern Russia, including Sochi, Gelendzhik, Stavropol, and others, involve flying over the Caspian Sea and then from the east along the Caucasus Mountains, past Elbrus, along the Black Sea coast. Direct flights to Moscow are not possible because there`s a no-fly zone closed since February 2022. Because of this detour, the flight is twice as long and further. However, this doesn`t apply to international flights, which are being launched; in September, they will start flying to Tambov, Dubai, Yerevan, and other destinations. It`s less critical there because you`d be flying over the sea or to the east anyway. The dangerous zone is the Rostov region; last year, I believe, they slightly straightened it, but before, planes used to enter Kazakhstan`s airspace. Now there`s no need, they fly over the Caspian Sea. In any case, it`s a great benefit for Krasnodar, a large city, a very popular destination; even flying for four hours is better than not flying at all. And again, not everyone needs to go to Moscow; there are other cities besides Moscow.»
The publication «Zhivaya Kuban» reported the presence of «bombily» (private taxi drivers) at the airport, who traditionally charge inflated prices. Business FM discussed the situation with Egor Ryabkov, a Krasnodar taxi driver and author of the Protaxi Telegram channel.
— Have you already had to drive any passengers from or to the airport?
— No, not yet, although the landing of the first Moscow-Krasnodar flight has already been published on the «Kuban-24» channel, but there have been no orders from the airport yet.
— What`s the mood in the city regarding the airport`s reopening?
— It`s certainly a celebration. If only they had opened it a bit earlier, when it was season, but people will probably fly until the end of October, so we hope to earn enough: after all, the autumn season in Krasnodar is almost two additional months of summer. Usually, from the airport, people go straight to the nearest coast: Dzhubga, Anapa, Gelendzhik. Prices range from 1,500 to 5,000 rubles, that`s the absolute maximum if picking up at 5 AM.
— Is there already a rush, what`s the demand for taxis?
— There`s no rush at all, prices are steady, even during morning peak hours, prices don`t really go up. Usually, the rush, the most stressful times, are late August – early September, and those have already passed, the holiday season has also passed, few people are going on vacation, so there probably won`t be a rush until mid-December.
— Are there many private drivers at the airport or mostly «Yandex»?
— Mostly «Yandex». Pashkovsky is a very small airport, not like the huge airports in Moscow, it`s close to the city, a taxi will always arrive in just a few minutes.
According to aggregator data, ticket prices from Moscow to Krasnodar for the next three days are approximately 15,000 rubles, while fares for dates starting September 22nd are around 10,000 rubles.
