Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Iturup Airport (UHSI) serves the town of Kurilsk on Iturup Island in the Kuril Archipelago, Russia's far eastern Sakhalin Oblast. Opened in 2014, it was the first airport built from scratch in post-Soviet Russia and now operates as a joint civil-military field alongside a fighter squadron. Its single ILS-equipped runway makes it a notable stop for anyone flying the remote Kuril Islands in the simulator.
Iturup Airport lies on Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands, and is the principal air link for the town of Kurilsk. It is operated by Kuril Islands Airports (Аэропорты Курильских островов) and, since 2018, has shared its ramp with a detachment of Su-35S fighters from the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, designated Yasny air base. For a simulator pilot the field is notable both for its remote, volcanic island setting and for its single hard-surfaced, ILS-equipped runway, built in swampy taiga terrain.
The airport sits on Iturup Island in the Kuril Archipelago, part of Sakhalin Oblast, roughly 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of the town of Kurilsk. The island lies between Kunashiri, some 19 km to the southwest, and Urup, about 37 km to the northeast. Before this airport was built, Burevestnik Military Air Base, located about 40 km southwest of the town centre (60 km by road), was the only airfield serving Kurilsk; it now functions as a reserve airfield for Iturup, particularly useful given the frequent fog that can close the main field.
Iturup Airport has one physical runway, 13/31, of 4,936 ft with a hard surface. Both directions are equipped with an Instrument Landing System, supporting instrument approaches to the field.
The runway is ILS-equipped on both 13 and 31, providing glideslope guidance for instrument approaches into what can be a fog-prone airfield. No specific radio callsign or communication frequencies for the field are published in available references.
Iturup Airport entered commercial operation on 22 September 2014, becoming the first airport built entirely from scratch in Russia's post-Soviet history. It was constructed in swampy taiga terrain northeast of Kurilsk specifically to improve air traffic punctuality, since the previously used Burevestnik Military Air Base, well to the south, was often closed by fog. In 2018 the airport took on a dual civil-military role when a flight of Su-35S fighters from the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was stationed there, with the military side designated Yasny air base.
The airport continues to be operated by Kuril Islands Airports and serves as the main gateway to Kurilsk and Iturup Island, with Aurora operating services to Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It remains a joint civil-military facility, sharing its runway with Su-35S fighters based there since 2018. Burevestnik Military Air Base remains available to the southwest as a reserve airfield during periods of fog.