World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Sheremetyevo International (SVO)
Tel: (095) 578 0111 or 5633. Fax: (095) 578 1832.
Website: www.sheremetyevo-airport.ru

Located 30km (19 miles) from Moscow, Sheremetyevo is the largest of Moscow’s airports (the city’s other airports are Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Bykovo) and the only one with Domodedovo to receive flights from Western destinations. It has two terminals, with Sheremetyevo-2 for international flights.

Major airlines: Aeroflot – Russian International Airlines (tel: (095) 156 8019 or 155 5045; website: www.aeroflot.org) is the national airline and flies to 150 destinations in 93 different countries. Most flights to Western destinations are on Boeing or Airbus aircraft – the fleet of Soviet-made aircraft is primarily used for domestic flights. Other airlines serving Sheremetyevo include Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, KLM and SAS.

Approximate flight times to Moscow: From London is 3 hours 35 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 50 minutes; from Los Angeles is 12 hours 10 minutes; from Toronto is 9 hours 20 minutes and from Sydney is 20 hours 5 minutes.

Airport facilities: These include banks, bureaux de change, a post office, newsagents, a pharmacy, restaurants, bars, cafs, duty-free shops, left-luggage and first-aid facilities. Car hire is available from Avis and Europcar.

Business facilities: Sheremetyevo-2 has a 24-hour business centre (tel: (095) 578 7252; fax: (095) 956 4652) with fax and e-mail facilities.

Arrival/departure tax: There is an airport tax of Rb308/US$10 and a departure tax of Rb369/US$12.

Transport to the city: Most hotels will arrange to pick up their guests in a courtesy van for a fee (Rb1222-1527/US$40-50). Taxis are probably the next simplest and safest way to get to the city, however, they are the most expensive (Rb1222-1833/US$40-60). Krasnaya Gorka Taxis (tel: (095) 454 6291 or 7201) operate a taxi service from the airport. The local bus 851 goes to Metro Rechnoi Vokzal and bus 817 goes to Metro Planernaya (journey times – 45 minutes by bus, then 30 minutes by Metro to the centre). There is also the Autoline fixed-route taxi and Airbus service, which departs every 20 minutes (journey time – 45 minutes). Services operate daily 0545-0030. Aerovokzal (tel: (095) 155 0922), the Airport Transportation Terminal and a central point for bus transport to Moscow airports, provides further information.