Sevastopol International Airport
Sevastopol International Airport "Belbek" Міжнародний аеропорт Севастополь "Бельбек" | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
Operator | Russian military control | ||||||||||
Location | 9 km (5.6 mi) N of Sevastopol city center, Crimea | ||||||||||
Built | 1941 | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 44°41′N 33°35′E / 44.683°N 33.583°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Involved in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||||||
A military airfield in Belbek, a village near Sevastopol, Crimea, was also used for civil aviation, named Sevastopol International Airport Belbek[a] (IATA: UKS, ICAO: UKFB), for six years from 2002 to 2007 under Ukrainian administration.
Since 2014, following the start of the
The base was home to the
History
Military airfield since 1941
The airfield is located next to the coast, in the Nakhimovsky area of Sevastopol, north of the city center, close to the adjacent neighborhood Lyubimovka. The airfield was first constructed by the Soviet Union in June 1941, during the third year of World War II. Initially it housed a military fighter aviation unit. Constructed without a hardened runway, a concrete runway was constructed after the war.
In 1947 the Black Sea Fleet's 62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived at the base. In 1960 the regiment was transferred from the Soviet Navy to the Soviet Air Defence Forces.[2]
During the second half of the 1980s, after
After
After Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, the Sevastopol transportation authorities said that Belbek airport was used for civilian charter flights from Ukraine and Russia.[3]
2002–2007: International airport
From July 2002, the airfield began to be used for civil aviation. In December 2002, the airport received a license for international flights. Between 2002 and 2007 over 2,500 flights were carried out, which transported about 25,000 passengers. During 2007, civil flights were suspended again. In spring 2009 it was announced that resumption of air links was to commence in the near future, but this did not happen.
Ukrainian military use of the airfield as a fighter airbase continued alongside its civilian use. In 1996 the
Russian military control
On 28 February 2014, Ukraine's acting Interior Minister
11 March 2014, a website was established[6] by the military personnel to report directly on current and former events in the airfield. According to the website, there had been a fire at the airfield in military area (воинская часть, Military Unit Number, А-4515) where electrical equipment was stored, with some unknown soldiers guarding it. The site was updated several times, and discontinued in 2016.[6]
14 March 2014, Ukrainian Colonel
The 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade had been deployed in Belbek since December 2007 in the military area number A4515 (воинская часть A-4515).[8]
After 2014, a 38th fighter regiment of the Russian 27th Mixed Aviation Division, flying Su-27s and Su-30s, was established at Belbek, but relocated to Russia after explosions in August 2022.[9]
The 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (23 IAP) from Dzyomgi Airport of the Russian Air Force were deployed here from April 2022 flying the Sukhoi Su-35S.[10]
On 1 October 2022 an explosion was reported, which Russian news agency TASS reported as due to an aircraft which ran off the runway while landing, without damaging the airfield.[11]
In January 2017, the company managing the airport presented public plans to open a new temporary terminal with a capacity of 300,000–400,000 passengers by 2018, with a full-size terminal to follow by 2019 or 2020.[12] The plans were not carried out.
Airlines and destinations
As of 2015, there were no scheduled flights to or from the airport.[13][14][15]
See also
References
- ^ "Sevastopol'/Bel'bek' (UKFB)". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ "62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO".
- ^ "Airport "Belbek"". Sevastopol transportation. August 2014.
- ^ "Military airport in Ukraine's Crimea taken over by Russian soldiers-Interfax". Reuters UK. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Ukraine accuses Russia of 'armed invasion' after Crimea airports blockaded". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 February 2014.
- ^ a b >"Новости - Бельбек". belbek62.com.ua (in Russian). 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014.
- ^ Обращение командира бригады Юлия Мамчура "БЕЛЬБЕК". YouTube. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
- ^ Рябов Михаил (27 September 2013). "Севастопольской бригаде тактической авиации присвоено имя Александра Покрышкина". gazeta.sebastopol.ua (in Russian).
- ^ "After explosions in Crimea, Russians move their aircraft to territory of the Russian Federation – Ukrainian intelligence". Ukrainska Pravda. 17 August 2022.
- . November 2022. p. 36.
- ^ "Ammunition partially exploded in plane accident at airfield in Sevastopol, Governor says". TASS. 1 October 2022.
- ^ "INSIGHT: A second civil airport for Crimea?". Russian Aviation Insider. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ Sevastopol airport is closed for flights
- ^ Russian Government says Belbeck will be restored
- ^ Sevastopol airport must be opened by 2017 - Russia
Notes
- ^ Crimean Tatar: Belbek Halqara Ava Limanı, Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт Севастополь "Бельбек", Russian: Аэропорт Бельбек