Moscow airports approved for working with A380

Moscow's  Sheremetyevo International Airport has been admitted to accepting Airbus A380-800 and A380-800F jumbo jets and their modifications, the press service of the airport said. The Federal Agency of Air Transport allowed to accept them from August 1.

Towbars have been purchased for engineering and air support; the staff has received the necessary training, which was carried out by Airbus specialists. Air navigation services have been checked; meteorological, engineering, aviation and electronic flight support systems for this type of aircraft have been provided, according to Aviaport.ru.

The press service of the airport reminded that in order to accept the A380, the airport should have the necessary territory and the strength of the coating of  runways, taxiways and parking areas.

The A380 belongs to 4F category that combines the largest types of aircraft. To date, the double-decked A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner. The maximum number of seats - 853.

Russian airline Transaero bought four A380 for 1.57 billion dollars. The airline will be the first to test the passenger jetliners in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe.

Tolmachevo and Domodedovo airports have also been approved for accepting Airbus A380. Emirates Airlines will launch regular flights from Domodedovo on the route Dubai - Moscow - Dubai with the use of Airbus A380. The flights will be launched from December 1, 2012.

A380 aircraft have already arrived in the Moscow region. The airplanes landed at Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports, as well as on the airfield of the Flight Research Institute named after Gromov.

Sheremetyevo Airport increased the number of passengers by 16.7% in 2011 - up to 22.555 million people. The net income of the airport increased by 4.8 times - up to 2.32 billion rubles. The state owns 83.04% of airport's shares, Aeroflot - Russian Airlines owns - 8.96%, Vnesheconombank - 4.24%, VTB - 3.76%.