Prokhorovka Airport

Prokhorovka Airport (IATA: POK, ICAO: POKA) is a single runway commercial and general aviation airport located 1,5km east of Prokhorovka, Belgorod oblast, Russia. Opened for military purposes in early 1947, construction of the terminals started in 1962, opening to passengers on October 24th, 1965.
==History==
===1947-1961===
Opening in 1947 as a military airfield with a single grass runway, it was the home to a squadron of Bell P-39's for two years before transitioning to the new Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 jet fighter in late 1949. In preparation for this transition the grass strip was replaced by a 3,000m(6,561ft) long runway made of concrete slabs. The rest of the field was upgraded in stages up until 1951.
The MiG-15's gave way to MiG-21's in 1959.
===1962-1990===
As 1962 dawned, plans for a civilian airport was comming along nicely with only a location left to choose. The choice fell upon the military airfield outside Prokhorovka, and ground was broken on March 1st. Construction was however slow and plagued with problems, constantly delaying the opening.
Come October 1965, the airport was finally finished and opened to the public on the 24th, the first civilian flight being an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-18 arriving from Moscow.
In 1974, the airports second, slightly larger, terminal opened. This year also saw the runway resurfaced with asphalt while at the same time being lengthened to its current 3,500m(11,482ft) length.
While the 1980's saw the introduction of so-called widebody aircraft, Prokhorovka's narrow runway and taxiways prevented their use, forcing Aeroflot and other operators to use narrowbody aircraft instead. Widening the runway was suggested, but would have required rebuilding almost the entire airport due to its proximity to both the terminals and air force hangars.
1983 saw the MiG-21 fighter jets stationed at the airfield replaced by the new MiG-29.
In mid 1985 a study was conducted to determine if reconstruction was feasible. While passenger numbers had increased steadily for years, the study concluded that it was unnecessary at that point in time.
===1991-2005===
With the collaps of the Soviet Union in 1991, passenger figures dropped dramatically, putting a stop to both expansion and reconstruction. The terminals fell into partial disuse, sometimes seeing only one flight per week. In 1992 the newer terminal 2 was closed completely as there was no demand. The building was however retained for use as office space.
Starting in 1994 the airport saw a bit of a renaissance as more and more of the newly formed "Babyflots" set up routes to Prokhorovka, prompting the reopening of terminal 2.
Terminal 1 was refurbished in 1995 and terminal 2 in 1996, both of them retaining their original external appearance.
The air force base closed in September 1996, leaving the northern part of the field vacant for almost a year before being taken over for general aviation purposes in July 1997. Although the barracks were demolished shortly after the military left, the mess hall has been converted to a club house.
The late 1990's and early 2000's saw increased investment in the airport. Its relatively low passenger figures, however, still meant that a new terminal building was not justified. Preliminary plans were nonetheless drawn up for a new runway and terminal. These were however halted due to the sharp decline in air travel following the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks.
===2006-2020===
The passenger figures for the airport took another dip when, in 2014, both Motor Sich Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines suspended their routes as a result of the Russian annexation of Crimea. It is currently unknown when, or if, these routes will reopen.
==Airlines and Destinations==
===Passenger===
===Past airlines===
===Cargo operations===
Although the airport doesn't host any regular cargo operations there is equipment available to handle smaller aircraft. Due to the lack of a dedicated cargo facility, however, these aircraft are required to park at the general aviation ramp.
Category:Airports in Europe