Moscow Dedovsk International Airport

Moscow Dedovsk International Airport (IATA: DED, ICAO: MDED) is a civil and military airport located in the Moscow suburb of Dedovsk. The airport utilizes four runways, has four terminals and a cargo ramp.
The Russian Air Force also occupies part of the airport including its own VIP terminal.
==History==
===1938-1945===
The planning for Moscow Dedovsk International Airport, then known as Dedovsk Aerodrome, began in 1938 when Aeroflot started looking for a replacement for the Khodynka Aerodrome. The choice of location fell upon Dedovsk where there was plenty of space for possible expansion.
When construction of the airport started in early 1939 things went slow. Problems with the concrete delivery meant that putting down the apron took longer than expected, which in turn delayed the construction of the terminal building. But despite these problems, the construction team managed to complete the apron and the terminal building by March 1940. However the runways were not yet started and money was running low. This meant that, even though the airport was largely finished, flights would continue to and from Khodynka for another year.
When the airports two main runways were finished by April 1941 things did not improve. The introduction of newer, larger aircraft meant that the planned and constructed runways were too short. And so, the construction team was instructed to increase their length to accommodate the larger aircraft. They finished the job by May 28. Aeroflot scheduled their first flight to Dedovsk for June 10.
On June 10 the first flight, operated by an Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2, landed from Berlin.
12 days later Germany invaded the Soviet Union halting further flights outside Russia until the end of the war in 1945.
===1946-1960===
The end of the war brought with it a travel boom within the USSR meaning even larger aircraft were introduced, and soon Dedovsk had to expand.
Construction of terminal B, after terminal one was renamed terminal A, started in January 1946 and was completed in October of the same year. Terminal B, which was larger than A, became the new "home" of Aeroflot as they moved all of their flights there, freeing up space for other carriers.
As more and more airlines made their way to Dedovsk it soon became apparent that the aprons were too small to handle the traffic. Therefore it was decided to build terminal C and increase the apron area in order to accommodate the growth. Terminal C became a direct copy of terminal B. Construction finished in 1947.
The next major change to the airport came in 1956 when Aeroflot introduced their first jet aircraft, the Tupolev Tu-104. This aircraft meant that the runways at Dedovsk had to be extended further still. This increase caught the attention of the air force as their airfields in Moscow didn't allow for safe operations of jet aircraft. And so, on December 23, the first Soviet fighter jet to be based at Dedovsk, a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, landed, signaling the start of a long partnership.
Over the next four years passenger traffic continued to grow, leading to the construction of a third runway. The airforce started a total of four fighter units, a transport unit and a VIP unit at the Dedovsk base over the same period of time.
===1961-1991===
As charter traffic grew in popularity, more and more flights came to Moscow Dedovsk International Airport(renamed in 1958). This meant that the terminal buildings were once again too small to handle the number of passengers passing through the airport. So, in 1961, the old terminal A building was torn down and replaced by a larger structure.
Traffic continued to increase for both charter carriers and scheduled operators which meant that the terminals in place were quickly reaching their capacity limit. Therefore the decision was made in early 1962 to replace both terminal B and C with newer, larger buildings designed for the future.
The new terminal buildings, completed by mid 1963/64 respectively, had enough capacity for 45 million passengers per year. More than enough, and they still had the possibility to be extended in order to accommodate 70 million passengers annualy.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the terminals needed no extension, but a fourth runway had to be added in 1982. This one was longer and wider than the others. This was so the airport would be able to handle the Antonov An-124 being introduced by the Soviet Air Force. Shortly thereafter the three older runways were lengthened and widened to the same dimensions at the same time that they were resurfaced.
Further growth in traffic and military activity meant that Dedovsk never had a quiet moment.
In 1989 the airports cargo apron was expanded to handle ten aircraft at one time. Up until then, the maximum amount of aircraft had been four, causing serious traffic jams.
Two years after that, in 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union caused yet another traffic boom, bringing with it more passengers from all over the world. This was the cue to extend terminal B and C to near their maximum capacity. Terminal A was slightly expanded as well.
===1992-2013===
In 1992 the entire airport recieved a makeover, introducing new signage, new staff uniforms, a new logo and a new rail link, connecting the airport with the city's main railroad station.
Following the example of many other airports around the world, Dedovsk management decided to open a public spotting point. Stretching the entire length of both the terminal B and C piers it officially opened on the April 13, 2001, but was closed shortly thereafter due to the 9/11 attacks. It reopened in January 2002 after extensive modifications had been made.
Opened on March 6, 2002, Terminal Express, the inter-terminal tramway, connects all three terminals with each other. It was an instant success.
The year 2005 saw the started construction of terminal D, the smallest of the four. Plans showed a terminal with space for 15 widebody aircraft or 30 narrowbody aircraft. Construction began in early February on newly acquired land southeast of terminal C.
As of June 10, 2006, a former Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-18V, CCCP-75554, is on permanent display at the spotting area of terminal B. It was placed there, after an extensive restoration, as "an homage to the airline that made it happen." The date was selected in order to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the first flight to arrive at Dedovsk. The celebrations of the event started with the unveiling of the aircraft and continued to the end of the year.
Just as the celebrations of the airports 65th year in operation were slowing down, the airport opened terminal D on February 1st, 2007, along with an extension of the Terminal Express tramway.
The year 2007 also brought with it the opening of a new, and much needed, parking garage aswell as improved signage to better help drivers navigate the airport.
On January 1st, 2008, the airports current logo was unveiled to the public after a poll had been conducted by the airport aswell as the local newspapers. Out of the three possible designs the winner won with nearly 65% of the votes. Some people do however claimed that the airport had already chosen its new logo before the poll was even conducted, citing the fact that signs with the old logo were already being removed. This claim turned out to be false though as the signs that were installed instead were blank.
===2014-===
On February 28th 2014, an extension of Terminal F was completed and the area was renamed Cargo City in order to allow for further extensions of the passenger terminals.
March 30th saw the end of Aeroflot operations using the Ilyushin Il-96. The airport actually bought one aircraft, RA-96015, to use as a gate guard.
On May 2nd, construction of a fifth runway started on the western side of the military area. But as this runway is said to be longer than the others the reason for its construction has sparked a debate within the aviation community. Some say it is being built to replace one of the existing runways and nothing else. But others believe it is made longer in order to allow for testing of new military aircraft. Skeptics claim that this would not make sense as the airfield is shared with commercial airlines and located just outside a major city. The fact that the military has a direct access taxiway to the runway, according to the airport management and military alike, is to improve the response time in case of war or conflict. In an interview with AeroSpace Review the base commander commented on the theories, saying that "the improvement of response time is the only reason for that taxiway, not a need to quickly hide top secret aircraft. Testing secret material in such a close proximity to populated areas would defeat the purpose of keeping it a secret."
===Air Force===
Ever since the first MiG-21 landed at Dedovsk in 1956 the Russian Air Force has had an air base located there. It has been the home of Mikoyan and Sukhoi jet fighters, Antonov and Ilyushin freighters, Mil helicopters, aswell as Tupolev and Ilyushin VIP transports.
List of aircraft based at Moscow Dedovsk Air Base:
Antonov An-12 Transport, some still active
Antonov An-26 Transport, active
Antonov An-124 Transport, active
Ilyushin Il-62 VIP transport, retired
Ilyushin Il-76 Transport, active
Ilyushin Il-96 VIP transport, active
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fighter, retired
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Interceptor, retired
Mikoyan MiG-29 Air-superiority fighter, active
Mil Mi-2 Light multi-purpose helicopter, retired
Mil Mi-8 Multi-purpose helicopter, active
Mil Mi-24 Heavy combat helicopter, active
Sukhoi Su-11 Interceptor, retired
Sukhoi Su-15 Interceptor, retired
Sukhoi Su-27 Air-superiority fighter, active, soon to be replaced by Sukhoi Su-35's
Tupolev Tu-154 VIP transport, retired
Tupolev Tu-214 VIP transport, active
It has also been host for many foreign government and military visitors, and has hosted multiple exercises during which aircraft from all over Russia and the former Soviet Union have taken part.
The Dedovsk air base has not been without incidents. Since the base officially opened in 1959 there have been 25 write offs with a total of 8 fatalities.
The fact that the airport is joint civilian/military has created its own share of problems. In the first years of military operations there was a number of incidents with fighter jets coming too close to civilian airliners. This was solved by introducing seperate approach paths, go around patterns and holding patterns.
==Terminals==
===Terminal A===
Terminal A is the airports main charter terminal, consisting of a terminal building without jetways and an apron with space for 15 widebody aircraft or 30 narrowbody aircraft, though it rarely handles that many.
Not much has changed since the terminal was constructed in 1941. Inside, the signage and check-in counters have been updated, but keep the original look. New security measures have been put in place, and both air conditioning and a new public adress system have been installed. However, the original flight information signs are still used.
The outside of the terminal building is still in original condition, minus the large hammer and sickle that stood on top of the roof right up until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then a number of people have called for them to be reinstalled as they consider it to be part of the airports heritage.
===Terminal B and C===
Terminal B and C are "identical twins" with terminal B being used mainly, but not exclusively, by SkyTeam members, and terminal C being used by other alliances. Both terminals have the ability to serve 28 widebody aircraft or 56 narrowbody aircraft at any one time. However, if needed, three narrowbody aircraft can share the same stand. This practice is sometimes used when the weather stops flights from taking off so that the passengers don't have to remain onboard for an unknown period of time.
===Terminal D===
Terminal D has space for 15 widebody or 30 narrowbody aircraft. When it opened on February 1st, 2007, many of the non-SkyTeam members moved from terminal B, some of the non-alliance airlines from terminals C, aswell as some of the airlines from terminal A.
===Cargo City===
Cargo City, formerly known as terminal F, is able to handle up to 15 widebody or 30 narrowbody aircraft at a single time.
Even though it is a very remote part of the airport, it does sometimes handle passenger flights aswell if there isn't enough space by the terminals.
==Airlines and destinations==
===Passenger===
===Cargo===
===Past airlines===
Over the many years Dedovsk International has been in operation, many airlines have come but many have also gone. Below you can see a list of airlines that have left Dedovsk for various reasons.
==Accidents and incidents==
Unfortunately the airport has not been without its share of accidents.
8 April 1948: An Aeroflot Lisunov Li-2 overran the runway after having had a strong tailwind on landing. No passengers or crew were seriously injured, however the planes left gear collapsed causing damage to the wing and fuselage.
13 January 1951: An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-12 suffered a single engine failure shortly after take-off and had to return to the airport. The plane made a safe landing, but 3 of 25 passengers and crew suffered minor injuries.
9 February 1951: The same Il-12 suffered yet another engine failure after take-off, but this time the outcome was not so fortunate. The plane crashed trying to turn back toward the airport and all 17 onboard perished.
14 June 1956: A LOT Polish Airlines Ilyushin Il-14 flying to Warsaw was hijacked. The hijacker demanded to be taken to Stockholm, but the passengers overpowered the man and the plane landed safely.
5 October 1959: An Aeroflot Antonov An-2 crashed shortly after take-off with the pilot being the only casualty of the 4 onboard.
11 December 1959: An air force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 made a forced landing on a field to the north of the airfield shortly after take-off as a result of a birdstrike. The pilot survived but the plane was a write-off.
21 January 1960: An air force Antonov An-12 suffered an engine failure on landing, possibly due to a birdstrike, but made a safe landing with no injuries reported.
30 January 1960: An Austrian Airlines Vickers 779D Viscount made a gear-up landing after suffering an mechanical failure. Only minor injuries were reported.
15 August 1960: Two air force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21's colided in mid-air during a combat exercise. The pilot of the less damaged aircraft ejected safely after pointing the jet away from populated areas. Meanwhile, the other pilot, sergeant Vladimir Kobracheck, elected to stay in his severely damaged jet until the end. Fighting for control, he searched for a place where he could set the plane down with minimal loss of life. After locating a suitable field Kobracheck began his approach. Only moments before touchdown, the plane flipped over and struck the ground nose first. He perished upon impact. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" and the city renamed the main access road to the military airfield Kobracheck Road.
1 January 1961: A Czechoslovak Airlines Ilyushin Il-18V coming in from Prague was forced to make an emergency landing after a mechanical failure. The aircraft made a safe landing, but was unable to stop on the runway. Only minor injuries were reported.
24 October 1961: A Deutsche Lufthansa Ilyushin Il-18V and a visiting air force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 came within a few hundred yards of each other while on approach. Had the MiG pilot not encountered the turbulence caused by the Ilyushin it could have ended in disaster. This was the airports first reported close-call between a civilian airliner and a military jet fighter.
3 December 1961: A TABSO Ilyushin Il-14 made a hard landing which resulted in the left hand landing gear to collaps. There were no injuries reported.
8 March 1962: A Scandinavian Airlines Sud Caravelle III was intercepted by two Soviet Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21's after it accidentally left the approved air corridor due to a navigation error. The air force, suspecting a hijacking, sent the two MiG-21's up fully armed, but the plane landed safely after being escorted to the runway.
19 December 1962: Following the SAS Caravelle incident was a similar situation involving a Swissair Caravelle III. The plane left the approved air corridor because of pilot error and was escorted to the runway by two MiG-21's. Warning shots were fired.
1 January 1963: A group of three young men stormed an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104B while it was unloading and demanded to be taken to Washington DC. The co-pilot refused to follow the hijackers orders and was stabbed in the arm as a result. The captain, deciding it was not worth risking peoples lives, started the engines and requested an immediate take-off. Soon the plane took off and headed for Washington DC. However the plane would need to refuel and therefore had to land in London before continuing on. Assuming that none of the hijackers spoke any English, the captain told the controller to alert the army of the situation. After landing at the airport the plane taxied to a remote stand where it was stormed as soon as it came to a halt. In the firefight two of the men were shot dead, and the third was seriously injured. All the crewmembers survived.
14 September 1963: A visiting air force Sukhoi Su-7 crashed on the airfield when the pilot tried to perform a low fly-by after completing an exercise. The pilot came in too low and hit an antenna at the edge of the field, causing the right wing to come of the aircraft. Spinning violently, the plane hit a row of parked Sukhoi Su-7's from the same air base. As a result, the pilot was killed, his plane totally destroyed and five parked aircraft were written off.
8 February 1964: A JAT Yugoslav Airlines Sud Caravelle VI-N, operating a flight from Moscow to Belgrade, became the subject of one of the largest UFO conspiracies of the time. Shortly after taking of from Dedovsk the plane was intercepted by two bright lights, what the pilots thought were MiG-21 fighter jets. The military controller denied having sent any fighters after the plane, saying he had no idea what they were talking about. Four MiG-21's were scrambled to investigate and the flight turned back towards Dedovsk. By the time the MiG's got to the flight the lights had disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Thinking all was fine, the controller told the flight to continue to Belgrade and the MiG's were called back to base. Only minutes later the lights reappeared, this time acting differently than before. The pilots once again turned back towards Dedovsk and reported what they saw. They also reported hearing scraping sounds and feeling the plane being bounced around before the lights went away once again. When the plane landed it was covered in dents and paint scrapes. Everyone onboard the flight told investigators the same story, eliminating the possibility of an inebriated cockpit crew. No explanation has been found for what happened that night. Some have blamed weather phenomena, others have blamed military pilots using their planes for joyrides. But so far no theory has been able to explain the damages on the plane. The case is still open to freelance investigators.
30 December 1964: As part of a combined military exercise beyond the outskirts of Moscow, ten Sukhoi Su-11's were sent up to intercept twenty "enemy bombers" played by Tupolev Tu-16's. During the exercise, however, four of the Su-11's broke away from the rest. One returned to base because of electrical issues and the other three to circle around the Tu-16's. On its way back to base, the troubled interceptor lost engine power and began to descent rapidly. After failing to restart the engine after three attempts the pilot aimed the plane away from the city and ejected. The plane struck the ground and burst into flames. The loss of engine power was attributed to a blockage in the fuel lines. Nobody was injured in the accident.
6 September 1965: An Aero Oy Finnair Sud Aviation Caravelle III arriving from Helsinki had to perform a go-around after having issues with the landing gear. After landing on the second attempt the aircraft overran the runway. The tower controller told investigators it was because of a higher landing speed than usual, but the pilot blamed hydraulic failure. No hydraulic leaks were found and the pilot was blamed for the incident.
20 July 1967: During an exercise a Soviet Air Force Mil Mi-2 crashed shortly after taking off from the airfield. Out of the nine people onboard, the pilot perished and three passengers were seriously injured. The cause of the crash was attributed to the tail rotor seizing up. The helicopter was declared a write off.
10 April 1970: An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 overran the runway due to faulty thrust reversers. No injuries were reported.
18 March 1971: An Ilyushin Il-18D of CAAK was forced to return to the airport shortly after take-off due to a medical emergency. The plane landed overweight and suffered light damage to the landing gear.
16 February 1974: An Interflug Tupolev Tu-134A suffered an engine failure during take-off. The pilots chose to abort. No injuries reported.
21 December 1974: A Scandinavian Airlines Douglas DC-9-41 suffered some minor damage to its right wing after a catering truck hit it. A replacement aircraft was flown in and the damaged aircraft was repaired. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
1 January 1975: In the early hours of the day an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-104A catches fire due to unkown reasons. The aircraft was completely destroyed. No injuries reported.
5 March 1977: An air force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 rolled over on final approach and hit the ground nose first. The pilot ejected to safety. An investigation into the crash found a control cable had snapped, causing the pilot to lose control. Nobody was hurt.
4 June 1978: A collision between an air force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 and a Swissair Douglas DC-9-32 was narrowly avoided after the Swissair crew noticed the MiG in their way and initiated a go-around. Having never flown to Dedovsk before, the crew had unknowingly lined up to the wrong runway. No injuries reported.
24 October 1983: An Aviogenex Tupolev Tu-134A3 lost all power while on approach. The pilots managed to land the aircraft safely, but hard. Three passengers were injured.
16 August 1990: An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-86 in route from St Petersburg Pulkovo to Novosibirsk Tolmachevo diverted to Dedovsk due to a medical emergency.
28 November 1991: Shortly before midnight, a stowaway was found asleep in the baggage hold of a LOT Polish Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M during loading. The man was clearly drunk and had no memory of how he got there.
6 May 1992: A JAL Japan Airlines Boeing 747-246B en route from Tokyo Narita to Paris Charles de Gaulle diverted to Dedovsk due to mechanical problems.
3 November 1992: During a routine training flight, the pilot of an air force Sukhoi Su-27 lost control of the aircraft. Struggling to regain control, the plane impacted the ground two miles from the nearest runway, hitting a car. Both the pilot and driver of the car perished. The accident was blamed on pilot error, which the pilots family has disputed.
Category:Airports in Europe