The first flight from Vitebsk to Antalya has taken place, and in the future, similar flights to Bulgaria and Greece may appear.
The charter flight program on the Vitebsk – Antalya route started on June 1 at Vitebsk Airport. It is serviced by the «Belavia» airline on «Boeing 737-300» aircraft, and the tour operator for the flight program is «TezTour».
Judging by the liveliness around the airport building, Vitebsk residents have not lost their desire for air travel. According to Dmitry Ryzhik, head of the authorized TezTour agency in Vitebsk, such a flight has been in demand for many years, so the demand for trips to Turkey with the possibility of departing directly from Vitebsk turned out to be predictably high with minimal advertising support. Seats are almost completely sold out until the end of June, and the full load of the Boeing, capable of carrying up to 150 passengers, is ensured. The first flight was mainly boarded by residents of the regional center, as well as tourists from Polotsk and Novopolotsk, and there were also people from Minsk and Gomel. In addition, Russians from the Smolensk and Pskov regions are actively buying tours with departures from Vitebsk.
In total, the flight program includes 22 flights from June 1 to September 19. Initially, the season was planned to open on June 6, but considering the demand and the tour operator's requests, an additional flight was allocated. Regarding the financial aspect, initially, the early booking promotion offered a price significantly lower than flights from Minsk and comparable to Moscow. Now the offer has become more expensive, but thanks to the comfort and convenience of the transportation component, it remains competitive. For the next tourist season, opportunities for opening similar flights from Vitebsk to Bulgaria and Greece are being explored, added Dmitry Ryzhik.
The organization of passenger transportation, even if charter, further stimulates work on improving the airport's infrastructure. As reported by the head of the Vitebsk branch of the State Enterprise
"Belaeronavigatsiya" Sergey Ruris, this year about 13 billion rubles are planned to be allocated for the development of aerodrome and technical equipment and the improvement of services at Vitebsk Airport. One of the problematic issues for Vitebsk Airport is the absence of an airport terminal complex. Currently, premises on the first floor of the command and control post building are adapted for passenger service, and in the near future, two modular pavilions with a total cost of about 3 billion rubles will be put into operation. In addition, a project for the reconstruction of the command and control post building with an extension for passenger service has been developed and has passed state expertise. Under favorable circumstances, its implementation may begin in 2015. Another element of the airport's service infrastructure development was the opening of the renovated cafe"Polet" at the end of May, located on the enterprise's premises.The airport modernization program also includes the installation of modern, more functional runway lighting equipment worth about $800,000 to ensure flights in adverse weather conditions and at night.
Over the past four months of the current year, the Vitebsk branch of the State Enterprise
"Bel-aeronavigation" served about 300 aircraft, which is in line with last year's level.Sergey Antonov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"