Airport "Balandino" (Chelyabinsk)

Balandino Airport (Chelyabinsk) began its work in 1930. In connection with the rapid growth and development of the city, the General Directorate of the GVF received orders to relocate the military airdrome in Shagol to its own, in Balandino (already in 1953). Soon, the airport terminal, the radio center, and office premises were built, which housed the command and basic services.

In 1994, the airport "Balandino" moved to the level of international flights. Five years later, Chelyabinsk was able to boast of a new international air terminal and a renewed artificial runway.

Today the airport "Balandino" is a part of the company AEON Corporation with aviation communication not only with large cities of Russia, but also abroad, including long-distance ones. Passenger traffic in 2013 approached the millionth value and continues to grow.

In Russia, flights are operated in the following directions: Novy Urengoy, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar, Sochi, Novgorod, Anapa, Kazan, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow.

International lines: Cam Ranh (Vietnam), Sharjah and Dubai (UAE), Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada (Egypt), Burgas (Bulgaria), Dalaman and Antalya (Turkey), Dusseldorf (Germany), Phuket (Thailand), Barcelona Spain), Bangkok (Thailand), Goa (India), Paphos (Cyprus), Rhodes and Heraklion (Greece).

The CIS countries: Dushanbe, Khujand and Kulyab (Tajikistan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Yerevan (Armenia), Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

The landing strip is capable of accepting vessels of any type and is considered one of the best in Russia.

The airport located in Balandino consists of two arrivals halls (the international sector capacity is up to 150 people per hour, and the Russian sector - up to 300 people per hour), an arrival hall, a five-story hotel, a medical unit and several administrative buildings. The state of the airline has more than 20 services. The main companies serving the airport include: North Wind, S7-Airlines, AkBars Aero, Aeroflot, Kuban Airlines, Ural Airlines, State Customs Committee of Russia, Orenburg Airlines.

The airport "Balandino" continues to develop actively, focusing on improving the service of its passengers. So, in 2010 a spacious business hall was opened, in 2011, the storage area was reconstructed, the departure hall was brought into compliance with the international standard: semi-soft armchairs were installed, modern air conditioners and ventilation system were installed, separate places for smokers were installed, Gallery, open cafe, there is access to Wi-Fi.

In 2012, a business hall (international sector, second floor) was put into operation. In addition, a completely new baggage equipment ("VanDerLande") is installed, costing the airport 15 million rubles. Container version of baggage handling is now much faster, which means that the delivery time for waiting passengers is also reduced.

Now the airport "Balandino" is at the stage of realization of a new stage of reconstruction. It is planned to re-equip the international sector by increasing the area of the departure hall by 400 m² by erecting an additional storage.

The airport located in Balandino has received many awards in recent years, including the "Best CIS Airport-2006" and "The Best CIS-2009 Airport". Such honorable awards were awarded for a high level of security and really high-quality service.