Konstantin Bylinin, Irkutsk Airport - Аэропорт Иркутска
Release Date: 2009-06-03
Irkutsk is reconstructing its airport and also building a new one…Not exactly, the construction of the new one will start next year. These are two different projects; firstly, we have reconstructed the old airport and launched its new terminal on April 10. We say it’s new but it’s actually been reconstructed. The terminal is now equipped with new equipment purchased in England, with all mechanisms and communications. The terminal serves 800 passengers per hour. That’s how we have managed to increase the quality of the service. The reconstruction of the existing terminal was commissioned a long time ago. The old terminal was built in 1974 and it didn’t comply with modern service standards. Today, the reconstructed airport meets all the requirements.
Why do you need a new airport then?
The issue of relocating the airport outside the city was first raised in the 60ies, when experts insisted that the airport was not located well, as the height of 500 meters above sea level and proximity of water cause frequent fogs that hinder good viewing conditions. Besides, the airport is almost in city centre, so planes take off and land above the heads of crowds of people.
As you might know, no new airports were built in Russia during the past ten years, so I guess it may take long time to build a new airport…
When will construction start?
It was officially announced that the construction would start next year and that it would be completed in 2016.
Will this go ahead, given the current economic climate and credit crunch?
There are two sides to this project as well. First, we have to take into account the commitments of the State. The Government has already allocated funds for the ground facilities but it will not invest in the terminal. That’s why the old terminal was reconstructed: it has not been defined yet who is going to invest in the new terminal of the new airport.
And who do you think is going to invest in it?
There’s interest from international investors, because Irkutsk is a special city due to its location next to Lake Baikal. I know there were several offers coming but I’m not the one responsible for issues like these.
So the investors can come and build terminals, parking areas etc?
As rule, in most of JSCs the State has a controlling stake, even though, say, Irkutsk airport was transferred to regional ownership. It’s a Federal State Unitary Enterprise which means that it is 100% property of the state. But next year we will be converted into a JSC and 100% will still belong to the Government.
And can you see inviting private investors in the future?
It’s clear from other airports’ experience that 49% goes to the investor who constructs the terminal. So the investor puts his money and gets stocks of the airport. As a rule, this is not the responsibility of the state that is actually responsible for securing the take-off and landing safety, as well as the safety of the service.
A lot of people might have heard about Lake Baikal, but not so much is known about the region where it is located. Can you introduce to our readers the importance of the region and of Irkutsk airport?
There are some cities in Russia with more than a million people. But airports in those cities can service only 200,000-300,000 people. The population of Irkutsk is 600,000 people and yet, in 2007, we served more than a million passengers, and over a million in 2008! What is special about our airport is that we have international flights to Beijing and Shenyang. We have annual charter programs to Seoul and Ulan-Bator. We have transit flights to Vladivostok… and we have many tourists from Germany, Italy and other European countries. People from many countries are attracted by the unique Lake Baikal. They come to see the ‘Living Eden’: the water is so clean that one may drink it straight from the lake. There have been even some projects considering export of the water. The quality of this water has no analogues anywhere else in the world. It was calculated that if humanity runs out of drinking water, Lake Baikal could secure water supply for a few years. The depth of the lake is more than 1.5 km.
Other competitors, like Krasnoyarsk or Tolmachevo airports, also benefit from their ‘touristic’ locations, and, like Irkutsk, they are also hubs from the West to the East. Nevertheless, you have not been chosen as one of the fifteen federal aviation hubs in Russia… what does this mean for an airport like Irkutsk?
It’s not a problem at all for us. The population of Novosibirsk is over a million, so naturally they have more passengers. It’s easier to compete with Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk has more passengers because they have an airline based in the airport. Now, we are also negotiating to have an air company based in our airport, too. Before Irkutsk I worked for several companies. In fact, my next meeting is with a fellow colleague to discuss this very issue. We have two air companies based in Irkutsk. Each of them has a 10 aircraft in the fleet of aircraft. The peculiarity of these air companies is they fly to small airports in smaller locations. Nevertheless, they also fly to Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Ulan-Ude. But now we are talking about an airline that would be, let’s say, federal rather than regional. But it’s not really a responsibility of us as an airport. As far as I understand, it’s the responsibility of the Federal Agency’s of Air Transport.
How important is it to develop Chinese business for Irkutsk airport?
We’ve been negotiating for quite some time to launch a new flight to Manchuria. The city is close to the the border, and many people go there for consumer goods. The Chinese want to re-distribute part of the passengers to air transport. Today there are two Chinese airlines flying to our airport: Hainan airlines and CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES.
What about developing cargo?
We also have a project of a cargo terminal. 10-15 years ago Irkutsk airport served around 20 cargo aircrafts like Il-76 which can lift up to 40 tons per day. So there’s a project for a cargo terminal and we have already prepared feasibility study, but the current economic situation in the world makes it difficult to be precise about how the project will evolve. But the head of our region has recently met the head of the Federal Tax Service…
If you had a message to send to our readers, what would it be?
I advise all our potential passengers to come to Irkutsk, use the service of our airport and see Lake Baikal, one of the world’s miracles.
| Company: | Irkutsk Airport - Аэропорт Иркутска |
| Position: | General Director |
| Country: | Russian Federation |