The largest commercial operator of Ansat helicopters in the Russian Federation and one of the leading operators of air ambulance, Russian Helicopter Systems, has chosen Kaluga international airport as its main base
The largest commercial operator of Ansat helicopters in the Russian Federation and one of the leading operators of air ambulance, Russian Helicopter Systems, has chosen Kaluga international airport named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky as its main base.
On August 5, 2020, the newest Russian MI-38 helicopter with RVS specialists on board will make a passenger flight from Moscow to Kaluga, which will allow testing the new route, as well as performing the first-ever flight on this type of helicopter to the new home region. The flight time will be about 40 minutes.
The company plans to launch charter flights on different classes of aircrafts from Moscow to the Kaluga region, which will meet the demand of corporate and private clients from the industrially developed Kaluga region. The company's fleet includes Mi-8AMT/MTV, Ansat, the latest Mi-38 with a high-comfort cabin, as well as AW139, AW109, and Robinson R-44 helicopters.
Kaluga international airport is certified for receiving and servicing all types of helicopters. On the territory of the airfield there is a special helicopter pad, a hangar for storing and servicing aircrafts and its own refueling complex. Cooperation with Russian Helicopter Systems will improve the transport infrastructure of Kaluga and surrounding regions and offer new types of aviation services.
JSC Russian Helicopter Systems was established in 2006 and provides a wide range of aviation services.
Within the framework of the national project "Healthcare", RVS helicopters carry out medical evacuation of citizens in 11 regions of the Russian Federation. Since June 1, 2017, about 6000 patients have been evacuated by the company's helicopters, and more than 200 helicopter pads have been selected and equipped for the air ambulance infrastructure.
The engineering and technical service of the company is producing a "mobile night launch complex", which allowed to solve the problem of helicopter pads not equipped with specialized lighting equipment.
The company has its own aviation training center in the Moscow region, which has trained more than 2000 specialists for civil aviation. The center was the first to train pilots for new domestic Ansat helicopters in the Russian Federation, and today RVS specialists are training cadets at the A.V. Lyapidevsky Omsk flight technical College of civil aviation under a state contract.
Kaluga International Airport was launched in June 2015 after a deep renovation. On August 18, 2015, the airport received international status, and on September 4, 2015, Kaluga international airport accepted an international flight for the first time.
The airport is capable of receiving all types of medium-haul aircrafts, including Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A321, as well as all smaller aircrafts and helicopters.
Currently, the airport has two terminals - for domestic and international flights. The total capacity of the two terminals is 350 people per hour.
The international terminal was designed and built from scratch and opened in 2018 and was used for transport support for the FIFA World Cup. It is equipped with 10 passport control booths, which allows to serve flights without delays. The airport has its own refueling complex.
Over the past 5 years, Kaluga international airport has served more than 300 000 passengers, received and sent more than 8 500 flights, and handled more than 2 million kilograms of cargo, mail and luggage.
In the spring and summer season of 2020, direct flights are operated from Kaluga to 10 domestic destinations (Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Simferopol, Krasnodar, Anapa).