Lufthansa to Link Vnukovo International With Frankfurt and Berlin  

Today Vnukovo International's Terminal A has welcomed the joint Lufthansa-Vnukovo news conference to announce preparations for scheduled flight operations by the German flag carrier out of Vnukovo International. The flights are slated to commence with the opening of summer navigation, 2012.

As a result, once the summer navigation 2012 commences, Lufthansa will operate two daily frequencies between Frankfurt and Vnukovo International, using the A-320 midrange twinjets as standard operating equipment on the route, and effective June 3, 2012, following the operational launch of Berlin's new Willy Brandt International Airport, the German carrier will introduce twelve weekly services from its newest hub to Vnukovo. Further plans call for flight frequency increases up to 26 services a week during the peak season.

Ronald Schulz also emphasized that Vnukovo's convenient infrastructure and the benefits it offers to both its air travelers and tenant airlines alike, played a part in Lufthansa's choice of airport. The air travelers originating in or destined for Moscow and the Area, will particularly enjoy the seamless, hassle-free commutes to and from Vnukovo, ensured by the Airport's extensive and varied surface access infrastructure. This year has seen the launch in the airport forecourt of a raised highway that allows to completely segregate the flows of arriving and departing passengers. The raised highway spans the length of the forecourt, adjoining the passenger terminal facades and merges at both ends with the traffic interchanges that integrate it with the Kievskoye and Borovskoye Highways, both of which had recently undergone major overhaul and renovation and currently serve as quick and easy access routes to the Metropolis. The forecourt also provides a common convergence point for taxicabs and other vehicle traffic, as well as for municipal route buses, shuttle vans, and tour coaches. Terminal A's underground level merges with the Aeroexpress train station providing a reliable and quick rail link with downtown Moscow, with one-way travel times not exceeding 35 minutes.

Construction of the Airport's passenger Terminal A - the indisputable cornerstone of the Airport Master Plan currently under implementation at Vnukovo - is in the final stages of completion. Of the total 270 thousand square meters of floorspace the gargantuan structure will provide eventually, a 170 thousand square meter section was launched in July, 2010. The construction of Launch Stage Two of Section One of the facility, comprising a further 52 thousand square meters of floorspace is also on the cards. It is then that the all-new Airfield Dispatch tower will also be commissioned. Housed in a bowl-shaped structure, raised 40 meters above ground level, it will complete the structure of Vnukovo's foremost passenger facility both functionally and visually. Surrounding its base inside the Terminal will be a number of restaurants with unobstructed views of the airfield and duty free outlets. A true gem and a sans-pareil calling card of the new Terminal as it were, when compared with Moscow Air Transport Cluster's other airports, will come in the form of an in-door fountain located at the base of the tower.

Even now Vnukovo International in conjunction with Messrs. UTair provide numerous convenient transfer opportunities for their air travelers, while also regaling them with the latest in transfer passenger and baggage handling techniques and high standards of service in the process. "An air traveler flying into Vnukovo International need but ascend to the next level from the Arrivals to be able to continue their onward journey on a connecting flight ", pointed out Vasily Alexandrov, Director General of JSC Vnukovo Airport. "Having said that, all navigation throughout the Terminal's various levels and between them has been made as intuitive and trouble-free as possible for all categories of air travelers, due to all the meticulous planning and R&D solutions that had gone into the original concept and project of Terminal A, as well as through the use of latest advanced techniques and equipment. All of the above add up to create a maximum of comfort and well-being as highlights of passenger dwell time and overall experience the new Terminal A so amply provides."

All further growth in the number of flights handled, as well as the ongoing expansion of Vnukovo's route network offering, will be made possible, indeed driven by the Airport's vast Master Plan currently underway at Vnukovo. Vasily Alexandov went on to remind that the year 2012 would see the completion of Vnukovo's Runway 1 overhaul and extension up to a total of 3500 meters of operating length. Following the latter, the Airport will be capable of handling all civil and cargo aircraft types currently in operation around the world. Furthermore, the runway will enable ICAO CAT III flight operations in almost zero-visibility conditions. "What with all of the above, we must not make light of our duty to remain an all-weather operation at all times. And this is usually the result of hard work and perseverance on the part of all of the Airport's relevant departments and services around the clock, as well as the logistical and equipment arrangements and availability on as regular a basis, to say nothing of the lighting equipment and uninterrupted and redundant power supply", emphasized Vasily Alexandrov.

The ongoing cohesive effort on the part of the Airport's thousands-strong workforce, the timely preparations made for the upcoming winter operations in adverse weather conditions, as well as the deliberate steps taken to develop, overhaul and renovate the Airport, while taking good care of the air travelers' needs and comfort, the tangible advantages offered by Vnukovo's location, as well as by a number of other winning aspects, will all come together to ensure that other world airline majors will follow in Lufthansa's footsteps by commencing operations out of Vnukovo International, adding further to the level of convenience and the enjoyable passenger experience the Airport provides.

Vnukovo International is one of Russia's largest air transport hubs with more than 150 thousand flights operated by carriers both domestic and foreign, handled here every year. The Airport's route network spans all of Russia, as well as the CIS and former-Union nations, countries in Western Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2011 Vnukovo celebrates its 70th anniversary.

Lufthansa German Airlines is one of the world's largest and leading air carriers and in terms of passenger numbers it ranks first in Europe. The airline's fleet comprises 289 aircraft and its route network includes 206 destinations in 82 countries the world over. The year 2010 saw the carrier transport 58,8 million air travelers.