Flights commencing from Krasnodar to St. Petersburg starting September 19th will take off.
After a three-year hiatus, Krasnodar Airport welcomed its first international flight on September 17, 2025. The historic moment was marked by bread and salt, Cossack songs, and a traditional water shower upon landing.
The first international flight from Krasnodar was operated by an unspecified airline, with the plane touching down on Kuban soil at 10:15, carrying 184 passengers. The flight was bound for Istanbul, marking the beginning of a new era for the regional airport.
Following the successful launch, Azimuth Airlines became the first to offer regular international flights from Krasnodar. From September 17, they began daily flights to Istanbul, with plans to expand their route network in the coming weeks. From September 23, Azimuth Airlines will launch flights to Yerevan and Tbilisi, and from September 25, to Samarkand. From September 26, they will also launch flights to Dubai.
Ural Airlines joined the fray on September 18, launching daily flights to Moscow. Ural Airlines will also begin flights to Yekaterinburg from September 20. Aeroflot, Russia's flag carrier, will launch flights to St. Petersburg on September 19, and from September 27, to Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, and Ufa.
Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev expressed his excitement about the development, stating that the Krasnodar region is a land of great opportunities. The opening of Krasnodar Airport is significant for the regional capital, the economic hub of southern Russia, as it is expected to take some of the traffic currently dominated by rail travel.
Approximately 13 million passengers a year travel to Krasnodar Krai by rail, but with the resumption of international flights, this number is expected to increase significantly. The number of hotel and accommodation searches in the Kuban capital has already seen a threefold increase since the airport resumed operations.
The passengers who arrived on the first international flight shared positive emotions upon reaching Krasnodar. A flight from Krasnodar to Moscow departed at 12:10, according to the online board, marking the start of a new chapter for air travel in the region. Traditionally, the landed plane was showered with water right on the tarmac, a gesture of welcome and celebration.
