Simferopol Airport has begun preparations for the end of the Second World War.

Simferopol Airport will only resume operations once hostilities cease, as it is currently less than 200 km from the contact line. Therefore, any talk of resuming air travel to Crimea today is nothing more than a plan for the future.

Meanwhile, a management change is already underway, and advance preparations for the airport's opening have begun, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube и TikTok.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

Discussions about resuming civilian flights to Crimea began after the reopening of Krasnodar's Pashkovsky Airport, which welcomed its first flight last September after a three-and-a-half-year shutdown. Prior to this, Gelendzhik Airport resumed service in July, opening the way for plans for the next lifted flight ban—to Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Lipetsk, and Simferopol.

At least, that's what was discussed in November at the "Transport Week" in Moscow, hosted by the Russian Ministry of Transport and attended by key transport market players. And although all of them spoke in favor of lifting the moratorium on air travel, the final say rests with the security forces.

However, several days ago, information emerged about a working meeting at the Crimean Ministry of Transport with the management of Simferopol Airport, headed by General Director Evgeny Bazhenov.

Firstly, this information revealed a change in the airport's CEO (previously headed by Yevgeny Plaksin), and secondly, it announced its readiness to operate as a key air transport hub for Crimea, accommodating flights from the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East. This again sparked speculation about the imminent resumption of air travel.

Later, citing a high-ranking source, several Telegram channels refuted these claims: the "sky" is occupied by air defense and electronic warfare systems, and in the event of an attack, the airliner risks being caught in a line of fire. They're more likely to open Anapa Airport, where there's shelter in the mountains, whereas in Crimea, the route runs through open steppe.

"I don't think it's appropriate to talk about opening Simferopol Airport right now. We can talk about the potential of a transport hub, the construction of a railway line, a bus station, but we're not talking about launching it right now. We either need to move the line of contact or the airport."

"But we don't currently see any advancement on the front line in the Kherson direction. The line of contact along the Dnieper River remains the same. There have been no major changes. And Ochakov is very close to Simferopol Airport as the crow flies," former Crimean Transport Minister Anatoly Tsurkin emphasized to PN.

He recalled the shelling of the ferry Conro Trader in the port of Kavkaz, which is located on the left bank of the Kerch Strait.

"The bridge is under attack, the ferry was sunk, and that's much further than the airport. Someone has to take responsibility for reopening. Because if a decision is made, all the possible consequences will be on their conscience. Infrastructure preparations for a possible reopening are underway, but when that will happen is another matter entirely," Tsurkin believes.

In 2022, after the start of the SVO, flights were restricted at 11 airports in southern Russia. Flights to Elista, Gelendzhik, and Krasnodar were resumed. Airports in Anapa, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Simferopol remain closed.