FSVT closes airport due to runway condition and airlines look for alternative fields

Published: 8/31/1999

On August 6th 1999, FSVT closed the airport of Chokurdakh for all aircraft types, with the exception of the AN-2 and the Mi-8 helicopter, owing to the condition of the runway. In an interview with Yakutiya newspaper, the Director General of Polar Airlines, said that the situation had been deteriorating for some time. He added that the runway had been in operation since 1950 and had never been properly maintained. According to the Director General, none of 2m rubles, which had been promised by the government, in 1998, for the reconstruction of the runway, had been received. He confirmed that the airport was still waiting for permission to use the Ministry of Defence reserve airfields that are available in Chokurdakh. According to the Director General, concrete blocks could be used to bring the runway into an operable state, but this required the go ahead from Moscow. He further commented that a minimum of 6-7m rubles would be needed for the complete overhaul of the runway. The Director General warned that passengers would inevitably suffer as a result of the closure. He said that: “We shall have to take passengers holding tickets valid to August 5th 1999, from Belaya Gora to Chokurdakh, by An-2 and Mi-8, at our loss. We have to observe the Civil Code and take passengers to the destination as per their tickets. Other passengers, besides the inconvenience with the transit, will have to pay more, as there is no alternative means of getting to Chokurdakh than flying there”.

Article ID: 807