Russian Transportation Minister Igor Levitin confirmed on Friday plans to close Moscow's Vnukovo Airport for up to three months to reconstruct one of its runways.
Vnukovo is the oldest of Moscow's operating airports. The airport has two intersecting runways of 3,000 m and 3,060 m in length. While the renovation of Runway 2 was completed in March 2009, Runway 1 has not been overhauled since 1985.
"It has to be reconstructed. We believe that the planes will not be able to land there for two-three months," Levitin said on the sidelines of the 9th International Investment Forum Sochi-2010.
The minister said that the reconstruction would be most likely carried out during the off-peak passenger traffic season, which falls on February-April.
According to Levitin, some types of aircraft could still be allowed to land on Runway 2 because the intersection with Runway 1 cuts off only 750 meters of its length.
"It is up to experts to decide whether it's safe to land during the reconstruction. If not, we will have to suspend all operations at the airport for the entire [reconstruction] period," the minister said.
An ambitious strategic reconstruction and development program for Vnukovo airport was launched by the Government of Moscow in 2003.
The program will run until 2015 and is aimed at transforming Vnukovo into a highly competitive air transportation hub.
Traffic at the 70-year-old airport rose by 20 percent last year, while the new terminal which opened in 2010 could support another 7 million passengers a year.
SOCHI, September 18 (RIA Novosti)
