Terminal 1A of Kazan international airport put into test operation

A test check-in was today held in the Kazan airport’s 1A terminal for a Kazan-Astrakhan flight. The passengers were President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and State Railways head Anatoly Lesun. Before the check-in, the two officials inspected the construction of some railway facilities. The first site was a suburban train station building, whose reconstruction had begun in October 2011, aiming to make the station an advanced transportation hub. President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and railways chief Anatoly Lesun were told how the passenger traffic would be managed, which work had been completed and which was to be done.

Upon seeing the suburban railway station, the officials went by rail to the airport, to inspect the project to connect the two stations. The total cost of the project is approximately 11 billion roubles. The project is implemented with the Russian Railways’ investment funds.

When the reconstruction is complete, a trip between the railway station and international airport at a speed of 140 km/h is expected to take25 minutes. The modernisation is scheduled to be finished in December.

In the airport, R. Minnikhanov and A. Lesun went to terminal 1A, where a test check-in took place. The new terminal will in the first few weeks service domestic flights only, while after the customs and border police services have been installed, the international flight area will be put into operation, which is scheduled for later in the year.

The new 20-thousand-square-metre terminal construction had begun in September 2009. Its capacity is 1.2 mililon passengers a year. The cost of construction is over 2 billion roubles.

Inspecting the waiting room, R. Minnikhanov noted: “We need to think a little about interior design. We should do it right, invite a group of designers.”