Airport Simferopol (URFF).Simferopol International Airport (Russian: Международный аэропорт "Симферополь", Mezhdunarodnyy aeroport "Simferopol’"; Ukrainian: Міжнародний аеропорт "Сімферополь", Mizhnarodnyy aeroport "Simferopol’"; Crimean Tatar: Aqmescit Halqara Ava Limanı, Акъмесджит Халкъара Ава Лиманы); (IATA: SIP, ICAO: UKFF) (Russian AIP: URFF, УРФФ) is an airport in Simferopol, de facto the capital of the Republic of Crimea. Built in 1936, the airport today has one international terminal and one domestic terminal.

Since the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, the airport is only used for flights to and from Russian airports due to limited international recognition of the annexation.

On 21 January 1936, the Council of People's Commissars of the Crimean Autonomous Republic decided to allocate land and begin construction of the Simferopol Airport. Simferopol to Moscow flights began in May 1936. Before the Second World War, regular air travel was established between Simferopol and Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other airports. In 1957, a terminal was commissioned. Lighting equipment was installed on a dirt runway and IL-12, IL-14, and Mi-4 aircraft began landing at the airport. In 1960, a concrete runway with an apron and parking areas was constructed. The airport began to operate around the clock and in adverse weather conditions, using new aircraft such as Antonov An-10 and IL-18. In the 1950s and 1960s, the AN-2 carried cargo and passenger flights to regional centers of the Crimea, and the Mi-4 flew to Yalta. In the summer of 1960, a squadron of Tu-104 was organized for the first time in Ukrainian SSR. Starting in 1964, the An-24 was based at the airport.

Construction of the second runway, designed for IL-86, IL-76, IL-62, and Tu-154 aircraft, began in 1977. On 19 May 1982, Simferopol airport was the first in Ukrainian SSR to have a wide-IL-86. In subsequent years, this type of aircraft made an average of 5.6 daily flights to Moscow. In the summer of 1989, the airport was designated as a "western alternate airport" for landing the Buran spacecraft. In the early 2000s, the old runway 01R/19L (length 2700 m, PCN 22/R/B/X/T, accommodating a maximum weight of aircraft of 98 tonnes) was taken out of service because of its insufficient length and strength. Since then, it has been used as taxiway D with a length of 2100 m (the remaining 600 meters are unsuitable for taxiing). The second runway (01/19) is now in operation and is longer, wider and accommodates heavier aircraft.

In May 2016, construction began of a new terminal building, with a larger hall on a wave-like structure and 8 gates for flights. The new terminal was opened on 16 April 2018, with the first arrival at 8:30 AM of Nordwind Airlines from Moscow-Sheremetyevo, followed by other flights. The terminal was previously checked by 400 volunteers on 12 April 2018. The current terminal will be for VIP, business passengers and some space is going to be converted to the trolleybus and bus terminal.[16][17]

This new terminal is 1 km west from the old terminal, between the main runway and the old one, making the eastern part of the airport useless. Eventually, the old runway (01R/19L) will be rebuilt and, with the runways being spaced 1km+ apart, would be capable of parallel runway operations, like at Domodedovo, Berlin or Munich. The new terminal has 8 gates to air-bridges and 8 gates to apron buses, 16 escalators and 28 lifts, 55 check-in counters and the airport terminal is able to handle 6 million passenger annually.[18][19]

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URFF - Simferopol

Experience the detailed recreation of URFF - Simferopol International Airport in Microsoft Flight Simulator. This add-on provides a historically significant airport with one international terminal and one domestic terminal. Designed by x-flight.su, immerse yourself in the capital of the Republic of Crimea with accurate details dating back to the airports construction in 1936 and its modern expansions, including a new terminal building opened in 2018.

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