In 2018, Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport served a total of 18,122,286 passengers, 12.4% more than in 2017.
Domestic flights carried 11,028,468 passengers in 2018, which exceeds the 2017 figure by 10.8%. In terms of international traffic, the number of passengers rose by 14.9% compared to 2017 to 7,093,818 people. In 2018, Pulkovo Airport handled 165,418 take-off and landing operations, which constitutes an increase of 9.6% year-on-year.
The peak day for passenger traffic was July 11, 2018, the day after the FIFA World Cup semi-final match between Belgium and France was held in St. Petersburg. On this day, Pulkovo Airport served 74,608 passengers, the largest number handled in one day in the airport’s history. July was once again the busiest month of the year, serving 2,103,426 passengers in 31 working days.
During 2018, four new airlines began operating scheduled flights from St. Petersburg Airport: Air Malta, Germania, Onur Air, and Sichuan Airlines. The route network of Pulkovo Airport was expanded by 20 new destinations. These were the domestic destinations of Magas, Nadym, Noyabrsk, Saransk, and Stavropol, and the international destinations of Alanya (Turkey), Bergamo (Italy), Cologne, Dresden (Germany), Girona (Spain), Gyumri (Armenia), Navoi (Uzbekistan), Pisa (Italy), Pula (Croatia), Valletta (Malta), and Chengdu, Haikou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Xi’an (China).
Top destinations from Pulkovo Airport in terms of passenger traffic, 2018
Domestic Destinations
- Moscow
- Simferopol
- Sochi
- Kaliningrad
- Yekaterinburg
Foreign Destinations
- Antalya
- Frankfurt am Main
- Minsk
- Larnaca
- Paris
In 2018, Rossiya Airlines, Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, Pobeda, and Ural Airlines were the largest Russian carriers at Pulkovo in terms of passenger numbers. In total, they provided services to 10,786,294 passengers at St. Petersburg Airport, or 59.5% of passengers in 2018. Among foreign airlines, Lufthansa, Belavia, Uzbekistan Airways, Turkish Airlines, and KLM became the leaders at St. Petersburg Airport for 2018. In total, they carried 1,255,721 passengers at Pulkovo, or 6.9% of total passengers.
2018 FIFA World Cup
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which took place in Russia from June 13 to July 15, 2018, Pulkovo Airport welcomed 2.2 million passengers. Charter flights with football fans coming to the games were handled in a temporary terminal constructed in the former Pulkovo-2 building. The terminal was equipped with pre-flight check-in, customs, and border control facilities for inbound and outbound flights. Pulkovo Airport plans to reuse the infrastructure created for the 2018 FIFA World Cup during the European Football Championship in 2020.
Infrastructure development
In 2018, Pulkovo Airport welcomed, for the first time in its history, the world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, demonstrating the readiness of the airfield infrastructure and airport services to handle the most complex and technically advanced wide-body aircraft in the world. In addition, in the past year, Pulkovo served one of the newest types of narrow-body aircraft, the Boeing 737 MAX 8.
In 2018, Pulkovo Airport expanded its parking complex. A free cellphone parking lot was opened on Pulkovskoe Highway, a three-minute drive from the terminal, and 100 additional spaces were created in the short-term parking area P2, a minute’s walk from the terminal.
In Pulkovo Airport’s passenger terminal, the total number of security checkpoints at the entrance to the departure area increased from 14 to 18. A separate section for passengers with hand luggage was created. Additionally, Pulkovo Airport increased the number of passenger document checkpoints at the entrance to the domestic pre-flight security inspection area from 6 to 10.
In the baggage claim area, the carousels were rebuilt to increase the capacity of the conveyor belts and the speed of baggage delivery to arriving passengers.
New services for passengers
Pulkovo Airport launched remote check-in for all flights from St. Petersburg. The service was first set up during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2018 at the site of the event. A permanent remote check-in point opened at the Outlet Village Pulkovo shopping center near the airport. In addition, 24-hour baggage drop counters were introduced in Pulkovo Airport’s centralized passenger terminal. These desks can be used by all passengers who have checked-in online for any flight operated from St. Petersburg Airport.
Another novelty at Pulkovo is the capsule hotel Aerosleep, which opened in the general area of St. Petersburg Airport. The hotel offers hourly rates.
In the Airport’s international departure area, a tax-free refund desk was opened. It is located between the customs control area and the border control booths.
Pulkovo Airport operational results for December 2018
In December 2018, 1,272,706 passengers traveled through Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport, 17.6% more than during the same month in 2017. Domestic traffic was 17.6% higher during December 2018, at 882,356 passengers, compared to the same month of 2017. International traffic grew by 17.6% year-on-year and amounted to 390,350 passengers. In December 2018, Pulkovo Airport handled 12,728 take-off and landing operations, which constitutes an increase of 13.5% on the December 2017 figure.
Top destinations from Pulkovo Airport in terms of passenger traffic figures, December 2018
Domestic Destinations
- Moscow
- Kaliningrad
- Yekaterinburg
- Krasnodar
- Sochi
Foreign Destinations
- Minsk
- Istanbul
- Frankfurt am Main
- London
- Tbilisi
In December 2018, Rossiya Airlines, Aeroflot, Pobeda, S7 Airlines, and Ural Airlines were the largest Russian carriers in terms of passenger numbers at Pulkovo. In total, they provided services to 820,429 passengers, which constitutes 64.5% of the total passenger traffic of St. Petersburg Airport for that period. Among foreign airlines, the leaders were Lufthansa, Belavia, Uzbekistan Airways, airBaltic, and Finnair. In total, they handled 85,187 passengers at Pulkovo, or 6.7% of the passenger traffic for December 2018.
St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Russia in terms of passenger numbers. Since 2010, Northern Capital Gateway LLC has been the main operator of Pulkovo, implementing reconstruction and development projects under a public-private partnership agreement with the city of St. Petersburg.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
