Moscow named one of the most convenient airports in Siberia, alongside Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk.
Airport Yekaterinburg Makes Forbes' Top 10 Most Convenient Airports in Russia
Say hello to Yekaterinburg Airport! Forbes magazine placed this airport on the list of the most convenient airports in Russia, ranking it at a jaw-dropping 6th place. This isn't the first time Forbes has compiled such a list for Russia – in 2024, over 228 airports were under their microscope, with a whopping 216 million passengers passing through these airport hubs. But only 32 of them boasted more than a million passengers, and those were the ones Forbes delved into, gathering data on various key aspects of their operation and analyzing available information from open sources.
Airports were graded on parameters such as route network, service (considering terminal size, terminal load, availability of check-in kiosks and luggage carts, variety of shopping outlets, investments in infrastructure, date of renovation, online reviews), baggage claim wait times, transport accessibility.
Ultimately, the rankings featured a total of 20 airports, all scoring the maximum points.
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo were the clear winners, followed by the New Urengoy airport. Then came Moscow's Vnukovo, Gagarin (Saratov), Chkalov (Nizhny Novgorod), and Koltsovo (Yekaterinburg).
Yekaterinburg, with 4.3 million passengers (2024 figures), ranked 6th. The route network scored 2.5 points, service – an impressive 33.7, baggage claim – 1.6 points, transport accessibility – 3.8. The final tally: 41.1 points.
By comparison, the top-ranked Sheremetyevo had 43.7 million passengers, scoring 10 points for route network, 35 for service, 2.3 for baggage claim, and 3.4 for transport accessibility, ending up with a grand total of 51 points.
"In 2015, the government of the Krasnoyarsk region sold a 51% stake in the airport to structures linked to Oleg Deripaska, and later, this stake was acquired by the company 'Krasinvest.' In 2017, a new passenger terminal spanning 58,000 square meters was opened at the airport, connected to the business terminal by a covered gallery, and in 2024, the first phase of the runway renovation was completed. Since 2021, Yekaterinburg Airport has served as the second-largest hub for Aeroflot, as stated in the Forbes ranking's explanatory notes."
Placing below Yekaterinburg in the Top 10 were airports in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Ufa, Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Perm, Tyumen, Samara, Kazan, Novosibirsk, and Sochi.
Picture credit: DELA
Meanwhile, poor Kransoyarsk Airport, with just 4.3 million passengers, could only make it to the 8th spot! 😂 While you're here, admiring the success of Yekaterinburg Airport, spare a thought for Kransoyarsk. Perhaps it's time they rolled up their sleeves and got cracking on improving their service, baggage handling, and transport accessibility to join the big leagues! 💪🛬
Forbes magazine highlighted Yekaterinburg Airport as the 6th most convenient airport in Russia, scoring an impressive 33.7 points for service in the recent rankings. Despite having a route network of only 2.5 points, Yekaterinburg Airport's service, baggage claim, and transport accessibility contributed to its total score of 41.1 points. Meanwhile, Kransoyarsk Airport, with a similar passenger count of 4.3 million, ranked 8th, potentially indicating room for improvement in service, baggage handling, and transport accessibility.
