ULAN-UDE, December 8. /TASS/. The airport in Buryatia's Ulan-Ude reported a 12% increase in the number of passengers in 2025, where the increase is more than twice the national average, the Baikal International Airport's CEO Dmitry Garmaev told TASS.
"The year 2025 is coming to an end. We understand that the Baikal Airport in Ulan-Ude will serve 843,000 passengers this year. The increase against 2024 is by 12%. The rate is impressive, higher than the Russian industry's average, which is about 5%," he said.
These results are due to Buryatia's growing economy - developing tourism, bigger numbers of visitors to Lake Baikal, implementation of new investment projects, stronger business ties, including international ones. Local residents have been flying more often to other regions for holidays, study, and work. The government subsidizes socially significant routes, listed for the Far Eastern Federal District.
The airport has expanded the route network to 17 destinations, including international ones, and has undergone an unprecedented renovation.
The airport's development
In 2023, the Baikal Airport joined Buryatia advanced-development territory, and in November, 2024, a new airport complex was opened. The project's investments made more than 3.6 billion rubles ($47 million). The unique building with a national flavor takes an area of 6,500 square meters. The two-storey terminal is equipped with two boarding bridges to serve up to 400 people an hour.
"We have been able to build a new airport complex thanks, among other things, to our business residence in the Buryatia [advanced-development territory]," the airport's representative said. Business residents enjoy incentives from the regional government, the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, and the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic.
The old terminal, built back in 1983, could no longer meet modern requirements to an airport. "I would like to stress, we now have all facilities necessary for passengers with disabilities: escalators and elevators. This is very important, since there are now many people coming from the special military operation with injuries: some are flying home, others are going to other cities for treatment and rehabilitation," he added.
Over recent years, several hundred million rubles have been invested in Ulan-Ude's air harbor. The former airport complex has been upgraded and now it serves international flights.
About the airport
The Baikal Airport is a domestic hub for federal and international flights. Due to the geographical location, the airport can serve flights from the Asia-Pacific Region for technical boarding, refueling and ground handling. In 2017, the airport received the open sky status of the fifth degree of air freedom, thus it serves foreign transit flights.
In 2024, the Baikal Airport served more than 749,000 passengers, and in 2023 - more than 715,000. The plan is to serve 1 million passengers by 2027.