It's an important event for the whole South of Russia: the new long-awaited Platov Airport has started to receive regular flights in Rostov. It's the first time in 25 years that an airport has been built from scratch. The modern terminal will provide for the transfer of up to 5 million passengers a year. This summer, it will welcome the visitors to the coming FIFA World Cup.
Veronika Bogma is reporting on the first flight from Moscow. This is the first airport in recent Russian history built from scratch. The idea appeared 5 years ago. Today, the first flight from Moscow landed.
All the flights have been redirected from the old airport to the new one without any delay, as if they had always landed here, not at the old one, which is 30 km away from here. It's a unique case for the Russian air transport industry. Its runway is designed to accommodate planes of all types; there are 50 of them. St. Petersburg, Norilsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Simferopol, Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, Yerevan.
A passenger: "I'm French, and I travel a lot. I've been to the old airport many times. I like the new one, it's amazing".
Platov will connect flights going to various destinations. It can operate transfer and transit flights. There is a special area for the passengers heading for the Eurasian Economic Union countries who don't have to go through customs.
The airport is named after Matvei Platov, a legendary Cossack general, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. The design of the building was inspired by the Don River. Its roof is reminiscent of river waves. At the same time, it's a modern and fully functional facility.
A passenger: "It's an amazing airport, brand new, it's been built in 2017. It's presentable enough to receive the guests of the World Cup. Everything is going to be great".
It's obvious that the peak load will occur during the World Cup, but this is not the only perspective of the airport. Its capacity is expected to reach 5 million passengers a year.
Veronika Bogma, Oleg Pudov, Denis Denisov, Vladimir Shumakov for Vesti from Rostov-on-Don.
