SAMARA
The airport was officially founded on December 19, 1957. This day Directorate General of Civil Air Fleet at the Ministries Council of the USSR issued a decree on the foundation of Kurumoch airport of category IV as part of the Volga region territorial management. The first head of airport Kurumoch was N. Skrinsky who was in charge of it from January 7, 1958 to December 14, 1959.
Directorate General of Civil Air Fleet issued a decree that allowed to carry out training flights of IL-18 and An-10 planes by the School of Higher Flight Training in the day and night time in Kurumoch airport. The same decree read the following: Kurumoch Airport is to be deemed reserve airdrome at day time for scheduled planes with turbojet and turboprop engines. The head of the airport back at the time was A. Kudryashev (from December 1959 to 12 of May 1961).
On February 14, 1961 the decree of the General of Civil Air Fleet set a special squadron of An-10 planes. The head of the squadron was nominated K. Sapunkov. Drills of the aircrew on An-10 planes started soon afterwards. On April 11, 1961 General Directorate of Civil Air Fleet decorates the aircrew with the name ‘Squadron No. 65 of turboprop planes’.
On February 27, 1961 the crew made up of the captain of the airplane K. Sapunkov, second pilot V. Mikhaylov, air navigator A. Shkurupiy, flight mechanic P. Gribov and flight radio operator A. Iksanov on the plane An-10 carried out for the first time a flight with commercial cargo from Kurumoch airport. This historical flight’s destination was Sheremetyevo (Moscow).
On May 15, 1961 on the day of flight navigation opening the airport receives its first passengers. New liner An-10 heads through a new air route from Kuybishev to North Caucasian resort city of Mineralnye Vody. This day opens scheduled passenger flights on high-speed turbojets and turboprop planes heading to Leningrad, Tashkent, Adler, Tbilisi, Sverdlovsk. From June 1, 1961 the following Soviet cities are connected with Kurumoch airport: Rostov, Simferopol, Moscow, Omsk, Baku, Novosibirsk. Kurumoch airport sees daily increase of the passengers and cargo traffic.
On May 4, 1962 the decree of the General Directorate of Civil Air Fleet of March 23, 1962 of the Volga region sets a 173 united division as part of the air squadron of turboprop planes (former squadron No. 65 pf An-10 planes), one air squadron of heavy piston-engined planes (Il-14) formerly based in Smishlyayevka and Kurumoch airports. The commander of the air division was A. Filippov.
On July 19, 1963 General Directorate of Civil Air Fleet issued that the united air division becomes Kuybishev united air division as part of the flight division No. 173 of Kuybishev airport.
Between 1965 and 1970 Kurumoch airport continues an intensive construction of new facilities and a renovation of the old ones. Commissioned were the following facilities: the aircraft maintenance base hangar, pavilion for luggage claim, new (five-floored) hotel building, boil-house working on gas. The warehouse for fuels and lubricants materials was being reconstructed. The runways were being improved. In 1970 the airport flies more than 700.000 passengers and 27.000 tons of cargo and post.
The decade following 1971 was celebrated as the one of continuous development of new technology (planes Tu-134, Yak-40, Tu-154) and robust development of air companies: the construction of the second runway was finished at the time together with a training centre with training simulators.
Between 1981 and 1990 appeared new power-supply station that significantly increases resilience of the power supply of the enterprise and living zone; new landing system SP-75 that allows to carry out ICAO category I instrument landing in extreme weather conditions. Kuybishev air company handles a maximum amount of passenger flights (departures and arrivals reach a record-breaking 3.7 million people).
In 1992 Samara airport receives the status of International and the following year an international terminal was constructed and commissioned.
On February 19, 1993 Samara united air division was converted into Open Joint Stock Company Air Company Samara. In 1994 started preparation works for the separation of the airport from Air Company Samara and on December 9, 1994 Samara region property management committee issued a decree on the foundation of open joint stock company Samara International Airport through its separation from Air Company Samara.
On May 31, 2002 the decision of stakeholders returned to the airport its original name. From that moment on it was called Kurumoch International Airport.
In 2007 Ministry of transportation of the RF and Rosaviatsiya developed a Concept of development of airdrome network of civil aviation until 2020. The Concept determines a list of international airports that are deemed hubs of the federal main air transportation system. This list also includes Kurumoch International Airport.
In 2011 to fulfill Decree of the Russian President of August 8, 2010 No. 1072 on the ‘transfer of the ownership to Samara region of stocks of Kurumoch International Airport belonging to the Russian Federation’ 50.99% of the stocks of Kurumoch International Airport belonging to the Russian Federation were transferred to Samara region.
Same year chose an investor for the further development of the airport - Kurumoch-Invest (Renova group of companies). The programme foresees the construction of a new passenger terminal with the area of over 35.000 square meters and its commissioning not later than December 31, 2014. The second investment stage is foreseen for the period between 2015 and 2018. According to the plans, the terminal’s area will be expanded. Besides, it foresees construction of a new hotel, business centre, multilevel parking and railroad terminal. The capacity of the passenger terminal is more than 3.5 million people a year.