Khodynka Airport

Moscow, RU 🇷🇺 Closed Airport

ICAO

RU-0031

IATA

-

Elevation

502 ft

Region

RU-MOW

Local Time

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Airport Information

GPS Code: Not available

Local Code: Not available

Location: 55.788601° N, 37.5299° E

Continent: EU

Type: Closed Airport

Keywords: Tsentralny Airport Аэропорт Центральный

Terminal Information Not Available
Terminal arrivals and departures are only available for airports with scheduled commercial service and IATA codes.
Nearby Points of Interest

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Airport Information

Airport Closure Information

Last updated: Jul 26, 2025
Closure Date

The last aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-38, departed on July 3, 2003. The airport was officially and permanently closed shortly thereafter.

Reason for Closure

The primary reason for the closure was urban development. Located just 7 km from the Kremlin, the vast Khodynka Field represented an extremely valuable piece of real estate in a rapidly expanding Moscow. The city government designated the area for a major redevelopment project, making the continued operation of an airfield in such a prime central location impractical and economically unviable. The closure was a planned decommissioning to free up land for commercial, residential, and recreational construction.

Current Status

The site of the former airport has been completely transformed and is now a modern urban district. The runways and airfield grounds no longer exist. The area now contains:
- **Megasport Sport Palace:** A large indoor arena used for ice hockey, basketball, and concerts.
- **Aviapark:** One of the largest shopping malls in Europe, its name being a nod to the site's aviation history.
- **VEB Arena:** The home stadium for the PFC CSKA Moscow football club.
- **Khodynka Park:** A large public park built on a significant portion of the former airfield, featuring ponds, sports facilities, and art installations.
- **Residential and Office Complexes:** Numerous high-rise apartment buildings and business centers have been constructed.
- **CSKA Metro Station:** A station on the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line of the Moscow Metro, opened in 2018, with its design heavily influenced by the area's aviation and sporting heritage.

For several years after its closure, the airfield was famous for the collection of abandoned and decaying prototype and production aircraft left on its grounds. These aircraft were eventually removed between 2012 and 2013, with some being scrapped and others relocated to aviation museums, such as the Vadim Zadorozhny Technical Museum.

Historical Significance

Khodynka Airport, officially known as the M. V. Frunze Central Aerodrome, holds immense historical significance in Russian and Soviet aviation. It was one of the first airfields in Russia, established in 1910.

Key historical points include:
- **Moscow's First Airport:** It served as the city's first and only airport for many years, handling all passenger and mail traffic.
- **Pioneering International Flights:** On May 1, 1922, the first international flight in Soviet Russia's history departed from Khodynka to Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), marking the beginning of regular international air travel.
- **Center for Aircraft Testing:** From the 1930s onwards, it became the primary test facility for the Soviet Union's most famous aircraft design bureaus, including Ilyushin, Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG), Sukhoi, and Yakovlev. Countless iconic military and civilian aircraft, from the Il-2 Shturmovik to the MiG-15 and the Il-86 wide-body jet, made their maiden flights from its runway.
- **Military and Ceremonial Use:** As the Frunze Central Aerodrome, it was a key military airbase and the site of major Soviet aviation parades and public displays of air power. It was named after Mikhail Frunze, a prominent Bolshevik military leader.
- **Decline:** Its role as a primary passenger airport diminished with the opening of Bykovo Airport in 1933 and Vnukovo Airport in 1941. It then transitioned almost exclusively to its role as a test and military facility until its closure.

Reopening Prospects

There are zero prospects for reopening Khodynka Airport. The land has been fully and irreversibly redeveloped into a dense urban environment with major infrastructure, including a stadium, a shopping mall, a large park, and high-rise residential towers built directly on the former operational areas. Re-establishing an airport at this location is physically, logistically, and legally impossible.

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Distances are approximate and calculated as straight-line distances.

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