Yakutori Naval Airfield

Civilian operations were relocated to the newly constructed Yasny Airport (IATA: ITU, ICAO: UHSI) on the same island. This move was prompted by two main factors: 1) Burevestnik's location on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk makes it highly susceptible to frequent and dense fog, leading to constant flight cancellations and unreliability for the civilian population. 2) As a primary military installation for the Russian Eastern Military District, separating civilian traffic enhances both operational security for the military and service quality for passengers.

Burevestnik is an active and strategic Russian Aerospace Forces air base. It has undergone significant modernization, including runway and infrastructure upgrades, to support modern military aircraft. It currently hosts advanced fighter jets, such as the Su-35S, and serves as a forward operating base for projecting Russian military power in the Pacific region. It no longer handles any scheduled civilian flights but remains a key military transport hub and can serve as an emergency alternate for Yasny Airport.

The airfield has profound historical significance. Originally built by the Japanese and named Tennei Airfield (天寧飛行場), it was a key secret assembly point for the Imperial Japanese Navy's carrier strike force (Kido Butai) in November 1941. The fleet gathered in the adjacent Hitokappu Bay (now Kasatka Bay) before setting sail for the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Soviet Union occupied the Kuril Islands at the end of World War II in 1945, the base was taken over by the Soviet military, renamed Burevestnik (Russian for 'petrel'), and became a vital Cold War outpost. For decades, it served a dual military-civilian function, handling all air traffic for Iturup Island.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening Burevestnik to regular civilian air traffic. Its civilian role has been permanently and effectively replaced by the modern, all-weather Yasny Airport. All current and future development at Burevestnik is focused exclusively on its military mission and strategic importance.