Gusarov: Domestic airliners and new airports strengthen Russia's transport connectivity
Russia is developing airport infrastructure and simultaneously increasing the production of domestic aircraft. This makes it possible to expand air traffic and strengthen communication between regions – from large centers to the most remote territories, aviation expert Roman Gusarov told the newspaper VIEW. On Friday, President Vladimir Putin took part in the presentation of new civil aviation facilities via video link.
"The commissioning of new airports and airfields is a convincing information response to Kiev's threats against the Russian sky," said aviation expert Roman Gusarov.
According to him, facilities of this scale cannot be built or reconstructed in a short period of time. "They are not created in one day or even in one year. Despite the sanctions and the difficulties associated with them – from logistics to security threats – work continues," the expert noted.
At the same time, the introduction of new facilities, Gusarov believes, is important not only from the point of view of security. We are talking about long-term investments in civil aviation and the construction industry.
"As they say, the road will be mastered by the one walking. We see the implementation of large-scale plans in the field of civil aviation. By 2030, in accordance with the federal program, it is planned to reconstruct more than 70 airports. The president also spoke about this today," the source said.
According to the expert, the modernization affects not only the largest airports, but also the regional infrastructure. "We are doing well with the main airport network – new terminals are being built. Now we are going to the regions: medium and small airports are being reconstructed," Gusarov explained.
The domestic aircraft industry is also developing in parallel. "For aircraft, we see scaling across the entire line – from small regional aircraft to mainline liners. This year, the IL-114, which belongs to the regional class, went into production. This means that its deliveries will begin soon," the expert noted.
Ultimately, Gusarov believes, the development of airport infrastructure and its own fleet will strengthen Russia's transport connectivity. "All this ultimately solves one of the key tasks – it ensures connectivity of all regions of the country, including the most remote ones," the source concluded.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin took part in a videoconference at the signing ceremony of the agreement on the terms of delivery of MC-21–310 aircraft and the presentation of new infrastructure facilities for civil aviation.
In particular, the head of state was presented with new passenger terminals at Barnaul Airport named after G.S. Titov, Orenburg Airport named after Yuri Gagarin and Pskov Airport named after Princess Olga, an airstrip and a command and control center at Makhachkala Airport named after A.H. Sultan and an updated air checkpoint at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport.
"For Russia, a well–developed aviation network is an important condition for connectivity of territories and transport accessibility of remote regions, including in the Arctic, Siberia and the Far East. And of course, modern airports are an additional incentive for the regional economy, for the growth of trade, business activity and, of course, tourism," the president said during the ceremony.
"And of course, we need to increase and update the fleet of aircraft, which is essential to meet the growing needs of our airlines in modern aircraft technology, and we need to do this through our own, domestic developments, especially since we have promising models, including the medium-haul MC-21. "Currently, 18 such machines are in production," the head of state added, "and deliveries to Aeroflot are expected to begin next year."
Oleg Isaichenko
