GOMEL, 25 October (BelTA) - A regular flight Moscow - Gomel - Moscow will be launched in November, the head of the Gomel office of the Belaeronavigatsia enterprise Vladimir Chereukhin told a press conference in Gomel on 25 October, BelTA has learned.
The first flight of the Russian Nordwind Airlines from Moscow's Sheremetyevo to Gomel is scheduled for 10 November. The travel time is an hour and a half.
The flight will be operated three times a week - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The company will operate a Boeing 737-800, which can seat 189 passengers, to fly to Gomel, said Oleg Zheltok, a representative of Nordwind, director of TransAvia company.
According to Vladimir Chereukhin, the new regular flight will facilitate the development of the region
"After the meeting of the presidents of Belarus and Russia, a decision was taken to restore the traffic between the two countries. The company considered options," said Oleg Zheltok. Gomel is the second most populous city in Belarus and therefore was chosen as a flight destination. The representative of the airline emphasized that Belarus and Russia have been developing partnership relations, industrial and financial flows, and the new regular flight would contribute to the further development of these ties.
According to the head of the Gomel office of Belaeronavigatsia, the location of the airport is very convenient: 3km from the city of Gomel and 12km from its center. “The technical capacity of the airport and its capacity are enough to serve up to 500 passengers an hour. We can serve two flights an hour,” he said. The apron is designed for six aircraft. The airport can accommodate a Boeing 737-800 and its lower classes, Airbus-321 and its lower classes, aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 191 tonnes and all types of helicopters.
“In 2010 we carried out a large-scale reconstruction of the runway, the apron, and upgraded the lighting system. Now the airport operates as Category 1 airport, which allows for operation in the worst weather conditions,” Vladimir Chereukhin said.
In his words, the company has recently developed its charter program, with the main destinations to be Turkey and Egypt. “In summer the number of flights reached 15 a month. The season is over, and the number of flights has decreased,” explained Vladimir Chereukhin. As for regular flights, the company is considering direct flights to Kaliningrad and is currently studying the demand.
