Irkutsk, the main airport for the popular tourist destination of Lake Baikal, has been plagued by air crashes in the past few years. The latest tragedy occurred July 9, when an A-310 Airbus owned by Novosibirsk-based S7, formerly Sibir airline, crashed, killing 124.
"The region needs a new airport," Putin said during his annual televised question-and-answer session. "The government has extended the runway, as far as I know, and made the airport [in Irkutsk] safer, but a new airport must be built anyway."
The president said the new airport should be built in a different place to service several cities, and that budget funds and private investment should be solicited for the construction. "About 15 billion rubles [over $550 million] will be required from the federal budget," he said.
Putin said the Cabinet has still to make a decision on the issue. "People's safety must not be skimped on, and besides, infrastructure needs to be developed," he said.
Media reports have quoted pilots saying the Irkutsk airport, about 3,000 miles east of Moscow, is somewhat "non-standard." Its runway is tilted toward the city, and at about 10,400 feet in length has been criticized for being too short, forcing aircrews to make additional maneuvers while taking off and landing. Investigators have suggested this might have caused the latest crash.
Earlier accidents in Irkutsk occurred in January 1994, when a Tu-154 aircraft crashed on takeoff, killing 124 people. In December 1997, an A-124 military transport aircraft crashed into a residential area in Irkutsk just seconds after takeoff, killing 72 people. In July 2001, a Tu-154 Russian airliner crashed near Irkutsk, claiming the lives of 145 people.
