Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Sheremetyevo International Airport, named in part for the poet Alexander Pushkin, is the principal gateway to Moscow and the busiest airport in Russia, lying in Moscow Oblast between the towns of Khimki and Lobnya some 29 km northwest of the city centre. For the simulator pilot it offers a substantial three-runway complex with full ILS coverage on every runway, making it a demanding but rewarding destination for airliner operations into a major hub airport.
Sheremetyevo (ICAO: UUEE, IATA: SVO) is the main hub for Aeroflot and its subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines and Pobeda, as well as for Nordwind Airlines, Ikar and Smartavia. Originally built as a military airbase, it has grown into the busiest airport in Russia and the post-Soviet states, and the ninth-busiest in Europe, with six terminals serving both international and domestic traffic. For a virtual pilot it is an interesting long-haul or heavy-jet destination, characterised by its three long parallel runways, complex apron and taxiway layout, and dense airline movements.
The airport sits in Moscow Oblast, between the towns of Khimki and Lobnya, roughly 29 km northwest of central Moscow. As a major international hub it is served by a full suite of approach, radar and tower control positions, reflecting its position within controlled airspace around the Moscow terminal area.
Sheremetyevo has three parallel hard-surfaced runways aligned 06/24, all lit and equipped with ILS. Runway 06R/24L is the longest at 12,114 ft (06R) and 12,113 ft (24L). Runway 06C/24C measures 11,619 ft (06C) and 11,618 ft (24C). Runway 06L/24R is the shortest of the three at 10,168 ft in both directions. Field elevation is 610 ft.
Sheremetyevo offers a full range of radio services. Delivery is on 120.875 MHz, with Ground on 119 MHz (taxiways 1 and B), 121.8 MHz (taxiway A) and 122.9 MHz (taxiways D and E). Tower operates on 120.7 MHz and 131.5 MHz, with Radar on 122.7 MHz and 118.1 MHz. Approach is split by terminal/apron: 121.9 MHz for Apron 1 (terminal F and cargo), 123.6 MHz for Apron 2 (terminals D, E and F), 130.35 MHz for Apron 3 (terminals A and B) and 134.55 MHz for Apron 4 (terminals B and C). ATIS arrival information is broadcast on 122.075 MHz and ATIS departure on 125.125 MHz, with VOLMET available on 127.875 MHz. Every runway is equipped with ILS.
Sheremetyevo began life as a Soviet military airfield known as Sheremetyevsky, named after a nearby village and railway station of the same name. Construction of the airbase near the settlement of Chashnikovo was decreed in September 1953, and it became operational on 7 November 1957, timed to mark the fortieth anniversary of the October Revolution. In August 1959 the Council of Ministers ordered the airfield handed over to civil aviation, and its civilian career began on 11 August 1959 when a Tupolev Tu-104B landed from Leningrad. The first international service followed on 1 June 1960, an Ilyushin Il-18 flight to Berlin Schönefeld, and the airport was formally opened the following day with a small two-storey terminal. The Sheremetyevo-1 terminal opened in 1964, by which time eighteen foreign airlines were flying scheduled services into the airport; by the end of that year it had handled 822,000 passengers and 23,000 tonnes of mail and cargo. A second runway was built in the early 1970s, first used by an Ilyushin Il-62. Ahead of the 1980 Summer Olympics a new terminal, Sheremetyevo-2 (later Terminal F), was approved in 1976 and construction began in November 1977; it entered service on 1 January 1980 with capacity for six million passengers a year, and during the Olympics handled more than 460,000 international passengers. The airport gained state-enterprise status in November 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, and became an open joint-stock company in July 1996. One runway received a new 30-35 cm thick concrete surface in 1997. In the early 2000s Sheremetyevo lost ground to the newer Domodedovo Airport, with a number of domestic and international carriers, including British Airways, Swiss and Emirates, shifting operations there; in response Aeroflot pushed for a new Terminal 3 to expand capacity and meet SkyTeam membership requirements, and Terminal C opened in March 2007 as part of a broader late-2000s expansion.
Sheremetyevo remains the primary hub for Aeroflot and its subsidiaries Rossiya Airlines and Pobeda, and is also used by Nordwind Airlines, Ikar and Smartavia, handling around 43.5 million passengers and over 230,000 aircraft movements a year. The airport comprises six terminals, including four international terminals (one under construction), a domestic terminal and a private aviation terminal, and operates around the clock every day of the week.