Travel Notes

Domodedovo Breaks Out

Moscow’s older international airport, Sheremetyevo, must yield the title of the country’s busiest. As of this summer, more than 10 foreign airlines, including British Airways and Swiss, have switched their operations to Domodedovo. Passenger traffic at Domodedovo from January to May of this year was 4.509 million, versus 4.276 million for Sheremetyevo. But, with victory comes problems like long lines and nervous staff.

East Line, which manages Domodedovo, admitted that the airport is overloaded, but claimed that this just challenges the administration to grow faster and farther. By this fall, Domodedovo plans to introduce a “fast track” service, which was successfully implemented at Sheremetyevo in 2001. By 2006, East Line said, terminal expansions will increase capacity by 25%. According to tourist.ru and Vedomosti, the expansion project will cost some $500 million.