The airfield began as a
military airbase, originally assigned in 1941 to the newly established
Flight Research Institute which served as a
USSR aircraft testing establishment, with most of the major Russian
OKBs having facilities there. The airfield was used as a test site in the 1980s for the Soviet
Buran Spacecraft. It was also used by the
Ministry of Emergency Situations and cargo carriers. Until June 2006, jet fighters flights for the public and international customers were available at the
Gromov Flight Research Institute airfield (a number of two-seater jets like:
Aero L-39 Albatros,
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat, for Edge of Space flights,
Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum, etc.). On March 29, 2011, then Russian prime minister
Vladimir Putin proposed moving all charter and low-cost flights to Ramenskoye Airport (as it was then called) to relieve Moscow's
Sheremetyevo,
Domodedovo, and
Vnukovo airports and reduce the cost of tickets. A new terminal was constructed and the airport scheduled to be opened on 16 March 2016, but was later postponed due to lack of interest and airport certification issues. Originally named the same as the airfield after the nearby city of
Ramenskoye, the airport was officially renamed after the city of
Zhukovsky, in which it is geographically situated, and opened on 30 May 2016. The opening ceremony was attended by Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev. The airfield is also the location of the biennial
MAKS Airshow.
Construction of the airport airfield before the construction of the airport began (photo taken in 2011) The joint venture "Ramport Aero" formed to operate the airport in 2016 included
Lithuania's
Avia Solutions Group (75%) and
Russia state corporation Rostec (25%), with plans to expand the airport in three stages. The opening of the new airport was delayed and an aircraft limit to Ramenskoye was in place in 2016, Following the addition of new facilities for commercial operation, the airport opened in May 2016.
Air France-KLM noted in 2016 that it would intend to use Ramenskoye as a diversion airport for
Sheremetyevo in emergency situations. In October 2018, Avia Solutions Group (ASG), sold its share of the airport management company to the management of Ramport Aero According to a 2018 development plan, there were plans in 2019 to build two passenger terminals (with a capacity of 2 million and 5 million passengers per year), a hotel with 250 rooms, office buildings, open parking for 1,240 parking spaces and covered parking, with a capacity of up to 7,426 cars, as well as the station for aeroexpress. The first phase of the new airport in 2016 would have a capacity of 1.7 million passengers annually, and if realized, could support up to 10.8 million by 2020. The development of the project was expected to improve the transport infrastructure in the Moscow area. The airport terminal area is now 17,000 sq meters and the throughput capacity is up to two mln passengers per year. In May 2026 airport commence the terminal expansion by adding extra spaces from the right and left side to it - 800 sq m from each side. ==Airlines and destinations==