Airports given safety check for cross-polar emergency landings (210 words)

Published: 2/15/2001

Representatives of U.S. airlines recently made a three-day visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, to establish the airport's capability for emergency landings on the newly opened Polar routes. According to United Airlines', Robert Tidgider, the goal of the visit was to inspect the airport's runway, parking l, refuelling facilities, fire equipment, etc. For Delta Airline's Flight Safety Manager, Kevin Hitt, the group came to the conclusion that while the airport's management endeavours to improve the airport's infrastructure, the runway needs to be both strengthened and extended. The passenger terminal also requires improvement, to potentially deal with 800 passengers in the event of a landing. Khabarovsk subsequently became the target for a similar inspection by the delegation. Mindful of the commitments required for the development of his airport, Andrey Lobkin (General Director of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport) has been negotiating with the Federal authorities for a change in the airport's ownership. His twofold objective seems to be to escape the budget constraints of the Federal authorities and to make the airport a more attractive option for external investment (in the airport's infrastructure), in order to attract potential traffic both from the polar routes and from the development of oil reserves off-shore.

Article ID: 2364