Minsk National Airport (formerly known as Minsk-2) is the main
international airport in Belarus, located 42 km to the east of the
capital Minsk, geographically lying in the territory of Smalyavichy
Raion but administratively being subordinated to Kastrychnitski District
of Minsk. The airport serves as hub of the Belarusian flag carrier
Belavia and the cargo carriers TransAVIAexport Airlines, Genex and
Rubystar Airways.
Construction of Minsk-2 airport began in 1977. In 1979, a new runway
3,640-m-long and 60-m-wide became operational. By 1981 the Minsk-2
aerodrome was able to handle aircraft and the airport opened in 1982.
The first passenger flight was operated with a Tupolev Tu-134.
On 1 July 1983, the Second Joint Aviation Division of Minsk was
established in accordance with the decision of the Ministry of Civil
Aviation of USSR. This date is considered as the airport foundation day.
Regular flights began in 1983; by 1990 passenger traffic reached 2.2
million passengers. From 1991, the number of flights began to decline
due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and other consequent changes.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the first million passengers
was handled by Minsk National Airport in 2008. Due to the substantial
growth in passenger traffic, 2008 became a significant mark for the
airport.
In 2020, the growth was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Additionally from May 2021 all Belarusian airlines, mainly Belavia, have been banned from operating into the European Union as part of newly established sanctions.
