1931–1986 In January 1931, construction of an aerodrome near
Leningrad (Saint Petersburg's official name between 1924 and 1991 and the source of the airfield's
IATA code of "LED" This aerodrome was at first named
Shosseynaya Airport, the name coming from the nearby
Shosseynaya railway station. Soon after, the airport opened regular flights to
Petrozavodsk,
Pudozh,
Arkhangelsk, and
Murmansk. In 1936, a foundation for a new terminal was laid out. Leningrad's airport was also provided with new
G-2s and
PS-84s. In 1941, a new completely commercial passenger route between Moscow and Leningrad was opened; before it was a mixed passenger-mail route. Construction of the new terminal thrived between 1937 and 1941. The architects of the new three-story terminal were and N.E. Lansere. Construction was abruptly put on hold in July 1941, one month after
Nazi Germany's invasion of the USSR on 22 June 1941. The airport was the front line in the German
Siege of Leningrad. There were no flights between 1941 and 1944. The nearby
Pulkovo hills were occupied by the Germans and were used by German long-range artillery for daily
bombardments of Leningrad. The airport was cleared of the Germans in January 1944, and cargo and mail flights were resumed after the runways were repaired in 1945. In February 1948, after the damage was completely repaired, the airport resumed scheduled passenger flights. In 1949, there were scheduled flights to 15 major cities of the USSR, and 15 more short-range flights within north-western Russia. In 1949, Shosseynaya Airport recorded a passenger traffic rate of 6,305,333 tons of mail, and 708 tons of cargo. In 1951, the construction of the new terminal was complete. In the mid-1950s the new extended runway was completed, allowing the airport to handle larger aircraft such as
Ilyushin-18 and
Tupolev-104. In that same time period, the use of jet engine planes began in Shosseynaya Airport. On 15 March 1959, the USSR-42419 Tu-104 was the first commercial jet airplane to take off from the Shosseynaya Airport. In the early 1960s, modern regional airplanes such as the
An-24 and
Yak-40 began to appear in the airport. Flights to
Vladivostok began to emerge in the flight lists.
ICAO category 1 standards were implemented in 1965, making way for international operations. By the late 1960s, over 60 airlines had flights to and from Leningrad airport. On 8 February 1971, Shosseynaya was awarded the
Order of the October Revolution. The airport was renamed
Pulkovo Airport on 24 April 1973. In May 1973, the new Pulkovo 1 terminal was opened. The famous 5-cup Pulkovo 1 was designed by Alexandr Zyk. The 5 cups on top were put intentionally to give the terminal a more spacious feeling and allow more natural sunlight to pass through. This terminal is regarded as a masterpiece of Soviet postmodern architecture. Pulkovo 1 was a domestic-only terminal. Domestic air traffic increased by approximately 45% every decade between the 1970-1990s. The old pre-war building of the airport was renamed Pulkovo 2 and the terminal was exploited for international flights only. On 11 April 1986, the new departure and arrival zones for the international terminal were completed, doubling the passenger traffic rate capacity of Pulkovo 1.
1986–2007 In 1990, Pulkovo Airport reached its passenger traffic rate peak of over 10,000,000 passengers. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of passengers declined. In 2005, Pulkovo Airport gained independence as it separated from the Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise. Also in 2005, Rosavia declares that Pulkovo Airport (still state-owned) is to have an open tender on an investment project of the new terminal construction. This allowed it to sell shares and begin working on investment bidding projects. In 2006, Pulkovo Airport served just over 5,000,000 passengers: only 50% of the number from 1990.
2007–present In 2007,
Grimshaw Architects was announced as the winner of the construction contract. In 2009, the Saint Petersburg Transportation Ministry requested that an operating company for Pulkovo Airport be created, and a consortium known as NCG (Northern Capital Gateway) was set up by Russian VTB Capital Bank, international Fraport AG Company, and the Greek Copelouzos Group. On 29 April 2010, NCG won the tender for a 30-year operating lease over Pulkovo Airport. On 24 November 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony celebrating the beginning of construction on the new 150,000 m2
Terminal 1. From 2020, the number of destinations is expected to increase rapidly, with up to 75% increase in passenger numbers forecast. This follows a five-year test agreement permitting non-Russian airlines to operate flights from multiple European destinations into the airport under an OpenSkies/Seventh-freedom traffic right The test follows an easing of visa requirements for many European nationals wishing to visit the St Petersburg region designed to increase tourism to the city through the airport. On 31 January 2024, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil refinery near St. Petersburg. The Ukrainian drones and Russian air defence missiles fired to stop the attack led to all flights from the Pulkovo airport being suspended between 3:53 a.m. and 5:11 a.m. ==Terminals==