Ugolny Airport

Ugolny Airport (Russian: Аэропорт Угольный) (also Leninka, Ugolnyye Kopi, Ugolnoye) (IATA: DYR, ICAO: UHMA) is a mixed-use military and civil airfield in the Russian Far East located 11 km east of Anadyr, separated from the town by the waters of Anadyrsky Liman. The airfield was originally constructed sometime in the 1950s as a staging base for Long Range Aviation bombers such as the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-22M, but during the Cold War years, it became the primary hub for civilian flights in the Chukotka region.

Ugolny Airport

Аэропорт Угольный
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OperatorFederal State Unitary Enterprise "Chukotavia"
ServesAnadyr
LocationAnadyr, Russia
Hub for
Elevation AMSL194 ft / 59 m
Coordinates64°44′6″N 177°44′30″E
Websitehttp://apanadyr.ru/
Map
DYR
Location of airport in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01/19 3,500 11,483 Concrete

In May 2019, the airport was named in honor of the Chukchi writer Yuri Rytkheu.[1]

Civilian history

The Soviet-built Ilyushin Il-62 was a workhorse of the route from Moscow Domodedovo Airport to Anadyr for many decades. There is occasional charter aircraft service from Nome, Alaska to Anadyr.

Anadyr was featured in the American novel Flight of the Old Dog.

In 2018, 102,806 passengers passed through this airport.

On 3 January 2020, United States pilot Matt Guthmiller posted a video of his experience entering the Chukotka Autonomous region and landing at DYR without the correct documentation.[2]

Incidents and accidents

Owing to its geographic location, its long, concrete-reinforced, heavy load-bearing runway, as well as its modern terminal with jet bridges, the airport is well-suited and well-situated for emergency diversion at roughly the midpoint of the northern route trans-Pacific routes.

Ground transportation

The airport is located on the opposite site of the Anadyr River compared to the city. Transport by summer is by boat, by winter by a road on the ice, and for a period in spring and fall, only helicopter. The helicopter ticket was (in 2015) 3,680 rubles ($60).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Chukotavia Egvekinot, Keperveyem, Lavrentiya, Markovo, Pevek, Provideniya
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air EnterprisePetropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
S7 Airlines Seasonal: Vladivostok[4]
Utair Moscow–Vnukovo[5]
Yakutia Airlines Khabarovsk, Magadan, Yakutsk

Military

Anadyr was one of nine Arctic staging bases (in Russian, "bounce aerodrome") for long range bombers.[6] The Russian Air Force's OGA (Arctic Control Group) is responsible for upkeep of the facilities.

Anadyr has also been a prominent base for Soviet Air Defence Forces due to its close proximity to Alaskan airspace. The Yakovlev Yak-28P (Firebar) interceptor was stationed at Anadyr starting in the 1960s, along with S-75 (SA-2) surface-to-air missile installations. An R-12 Dvina (SS-4 Sandal) medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) complex, which targeted American military installations in Alaska, was located 13 km (8 miles) northeast of Ugolny airfield.[7]

In September 1982, the Yak-28s were replaced with 20 Sukhoi Su-15TM (Flagon) as part of a force upgrade.[8] The Su-15 were flown by the 171st Fighter Aviation Regiment which was transferred from Bombora airfield, Gudauta, in the Abkhazian ASSR of the Georgian SSR.[9] The 171st Regiment reported to the 23rd Air Defence Corps, 11th PVO Army. The interceptor regiment was disbanded in 1992.

Fighter aircraft are no longer based permanently at Anadyr, and the region is overflown daily by foreign aircraft on the Asian polar route. Temporary military deployments are common, however. In 2001, the airfield was visited by Tupolev Tu-95MS and Ilyushin Il-78 aircraft on exercise from Engels air base.

In 2014, Russia announced plans to deploy Mig-31 interceptors at the airport.[10]

References
  1. "Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved 2019-08-21.
  2. Flying Our Plane to Russia Did NOT Go As Planned, retrieved 2020-01-18
  3. Hradecky, Simon. "Incident: Korean B773 over Pacific on Jul 2nd 2013, engine shut down in flight". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  4. Liu, Jim (25 December 2019). "S7 Airlines adds Vladivostok – Anadyr service in S20". Routesonline. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  5. Кривошапко, Юлия (23 October 2015). "Авиакомпанию "Трансаэро" на Чукотке заменит "Ютэйр"". ФГБУ "Редакция "Российской газеты". Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  6. STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATIONS RELATED ACTIVITIES SUMMARY REPORT (SANITIZED), June 1, 1980, CREST: CIA-RDP80T01355A000100140001-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  7. Evaluations of Soviet Surface-to-Surface Missile Deployment, November 1965, Guided Missile and Astronautics Intelligence Committee, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  8. FLAGON DEPLOYMENT ANADYR/UGOLNYYE KOPI AIRFIELD, USSR (SANITIZED), September 27, 1982, CIA-RDP83T00574R000101020001-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  9. Michael Holm, 171st Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO, accessed October 2011
  10. https://theaviationist.com/2014/10/28/mig-31-based-arctic/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.