WORLD ROUTES 2011: Ekaterinburg Signs Contract to Host Routes CIS 2012

Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport was yesterday officially signed as the host for the second Routes CIS event, which will take place in 2012. The signing ceremony took place yesterday at World Routes in Berlin and was attended by representatives from both UBM Aviation and Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport.

Dmitriy Zaikin, Deputy to the Commercial Director for Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport was joined by Ilona Fominykh, Head of Marketing and Tatiana Skomorokhova, Marketing Specialist at the ceremony. UBM Aviation was represented by David Stroud, Executive Vice President Airports, Routes and Katie Bland, Future Hosts Director for Routes.

“We are delighted to announce Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport as host of the second edition of Routes CIS, to take place 24th-26th June 2012 in Ekaterinburg,” said Bland. “Koltsovo Airport is the largest regional airport in Russia; Ekaterinburg, founded in 1723 and rich in history and culture is the fourth largest city and third largest transportation hub in Russia. We are looking forward to working with such a committed and professional host team whose partnership with us will take this second edition of the Routes CIS event to the next level.”

Ekaterinburg is the most important inter-regional centre of economic and social development for the huge Ural Region and, with 1.4 million inhabitants, is the fourth largest city in Russia. The Ural Region covers an area 20 times larger than the Netherlands, and is home to over 40 million people meaning Koltsovo Airport serves a large area and its main aim is to transform into a major regional hub – a Gateway to Russia – that would become an alternative to busy and bustling Moscow with its three scattered airports.

“Since 2003 the airport has witnessed an upsurge in development which helped strengthen the airport status on the market and provided opportunities for further dynamic changes”, said Evgeny Chudnovskiy, General Director, Koltsovo Airport. “This is attested by the Routes’ choice in favour of Koltsovo Airport, as hosting of the world leading aviation event is a sort of mark of quality for the airport. To have Routes CIS held in Ekaterinburg is a perfect opportunity to make a statement in the international aviation industry, to demonstrate all the achievements and share expertise in the introduction of new technologies, to find new partners and enhance relationships.”

Koltsovo International Airport is one of the leading Russian airports and has been implementing a large-scale reconstruction project supported by the airport strategic investor, Renova Group. The Airport has over 35 Russian and foreign airline partners which directly connect Ekaterinburg with over 90 cities within Europe, Asia and Northern Africa and has recorded astonishing growth in the past few years – last year its international passenger numbers rose by 39 per cent.