Aleksandrov, RU 🇷🇺 Closed Airport
RU-0500
-
597 ft
RU-VLA
Loading...
Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 56.403308° N, 39.067037° E
Continent: EU
Type: Closed Airport
Loading weather data...
Designation | Length | Width | Surface | Status |
---|
Type | Description | Frequency |
---|
Early to mid-1990s
The airport's closure was a direct result of the economic turmoil following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The state-subsidized network of local air services (Местные воздушные линии - MVL) operated by Aeroflot collapsed, rendering small regional airports like Aleksandrov East economically unviable. The decline in state funding for organizations like DOSAAF (the volunteer society for cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy), which used the airfield for training, also contributed to its shutdown.
The airport is completely abandoned and non-operational. Satellite imagery shows a clearly defined but heavily overgrown and degraded unpaved runway, which is unusable for aircraft. The former airport infrastructure, including administrative buildings and hangars, has been repurposed. The site is now occupied by various commercial and industrial enterprises, including manufacturing and storage facilities. A road now cuts across a portion of the former runway area.
Aleksandrov East was a typical small, regional Soviet-era airfield. Its primary functions included:
1. **Local Air Services:** It served as a hub for local passenger and cargo flights, connecting Aleksandrov with other towns and regional centers within the Vladimir Oblast and neighboring regions. These operations were almost exclusively handled by versatile but aging Antonov An-2 biplanes.
2. **DOSAAF Aeroclub:** The airfield was a base for the local DOSAAF aeroclub, providing primary flight training and parachute jumping for civilians and aspiring military personnel.
3. **Agricultural Aviation:** The An-2 aircraft based at the airport were also used extensively for agricultural purposes, such as crop dusting and aerial surveying of farmland in the surrounding rural areas.
There are no known official plans, public discussions, or credible prospects for reopening the airport. The land has been repurposed for industrial use, and the cost of acquiring the land back, removing the current businesses, and completely rebuilding the aviation infrastructure would be prohibitive. The demand for regional air travel from Aleksandrov is not sufficient to justify such an investment, making the prospect of reopening extremely unlikely.
No comments for this airport yet.
Leave a comment