UrBC, Yekaterinburg, April 20, 2012. Koltsovo International Airport offered its services to 720,410 passengers in the first quarter of 2012, which was 23.6% more than in the first quarter of 2011. The number of international flyers went up by 31.7% and came to 237,200 people; that of domestic passengers rose by 12.8% (400,650 people), and that of passengers flying to CIS member states increased by 73.7% (82,560 people).

The number of sorties went up by 12.2% against January-March 2011 and reached 4,670.

The airport’s press service reports the number of passengers flying to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Bangkok, Carlsbad, Sanya, Bishkek, Astana, and Osh rose most noticeably in comparison with a year earlier. As for domestic flights, the most popular ones were those bound for Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Khanty-Mansiysk, Novy Urengoi, and Sochi.

The number of new destinations increased by 17% in January-March 2012 compared with the first three months of 2011. In the first quarter, sixty scheduled flights and twenty-one tourist ones were available. Among the companies who flew the greatest number of passengers were Ural Airlines, Aeroflot, Transaero, Siberia (S7), and UTair. Air Arabia and Nord Star were among the newcomers on the market.