Sheremetyevo Airport currently operates with a terminal capacity of 85 million passengers annually. The planned volume of passenger traffic in 2024 will be about 43.8 million people, which is significantly below the available capacity. This is due to the current situation in the aviation industry and the traffic volumes of airlines using the airport.
From 15 March 2022, Terminal E, Terminal D and Runway 3 were temporarily decommissioned until the volume of passenger traffic and the intensity of take-off and landing operations at the airport are restored accordingly. In 2025 Sheremetyevo does not plan to resume operation of the third runway, such a need may arise later. This was announced on the sidelines of the XVIII International Forum and Exhibition ‘Transport of Russia’ by Andrey Nikulin, Sheremetyevo’s First Deputy General Director for Production.
He also said that at present there is no need to open Terminal F, which is temporarily closed for refurbishment, and to launch the second phase of Terminal C due to the fact that the existing terminal capacities are sufficient for the time being. The decision to suspend work on Terminal F was made in view of the fact that the introduction of new technologies in the near future will make current investments unreasonable. This decision is based on an assessment of projected passenger traffic volumes and available resources.
‘Terminal F, which is temporarily closed for refurbishment, has capacity for 15 million passengers, i.e. the ready capacity of our terminals now is 70 million passengers. Accordingly, with a traffic volume of 43-44 million, even 50 million passengers, we do not need to build anything additional. And it makes no sense to retrofit even Terminal F, because when it is needed, the equipment that we will supply now will be obsolete and new technologies will be available. At the moment we see that there is no need for the second stage of Terminal C or the launch of Terminal F,’ Andrey Nikulin said.
The third runway of Sheremetyevo Airport is located in the northern part of the aerodrome and is connected to the main aerodrome by an aircraft overpass built over the Sheremetyevo Highway. Its operation began on 19 September 2019. Runway-3 at Sheremetyevo increased the aerodrome’s capacity from 65 to 90 take-off and landing operations per hour. The 3200×60 metre runway allows all types of aircraft to land and provides approaches to landing under ICAO Category III A.