World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Pulkovo II International Airport (LED)
Tel: (812) 104 3444. Fax: (812) 326 9050.
Website: www.pulkovo.ru/english/default.asp

Located some 17km (10.6 miles) southwest of St Petersburg, Pulkova II was built in the 1950s as Leningrad Airport but was upgraded in the mid-1990s. Facilities are still bordering on the primitive, so the 2.5 million annual passengers hurry through as quickly as possible. Pulkovo I, the domestic terminal, is situated adjacent to Pulkovo II, within walking distance.

Major airlines: Russia’s national airline is Aeroflot (tel: (812) 123 8312; website: www.aeroflot.org), which connects St Petersburg with the UK and North America. Air France, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, CSA (Czech Airlines), Finnair, KLM, LOT (Polish Airlines), Lufthansa, Malev (Hungarian Airlines) and SAS all operate international flights to and from Pulkova II International Airport.

Approximate flight times to St Petersburg: From London is 3 hours 45 minutes; from New York is 12 hours 25 minutes; from Los Angeles is 16 hours 50 minutes; from Toronto is 12 hours 5 minutes and from Sydney is 28 hours.

Airport facilities: These are poor, consisting of a currency exchange office, cafeteria, bar, duty-free shop and an information desk that is not particularly helpful. Avis and Biracs car hire providers are located in the domestic airport, Pulkovo I, whereas Hertz is located in Pulkovo II.

Business facilities: Pulkovo Business Lounge and St Petersburg Business Lounge are located on the second floor of departures. Facilities include long-distance fax and telephone facilities, complimentary drinks and snacks and newspapers and magazines.

Arrivals/departure tax: There is an arrival and departure tax of US$11, which is usually included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: Many of the better hotels offer a pick-up service. Official taxis waiting outside the terminal have their prices fixed by a cartel and are not much cheaper than the hotel cars. Travellers with a command of the Russian-language should be able to haggle down the price of a ride into the city to about US$9, although this could be quoted upwards of US$30. Visitors may consider using a marshrutnoye taxi, which is a microbus that drops passengers off at at Moskovskaya metro station, for about US$2. The cheapest option, however, is to take the public transport bus 13 from the front of the terminal building to the stop at Moskovskaya metro station and continue to the centre on the metro. Buses run every 15-20 minutes, 0530-2359 (journey time –15 minutes) and cost about US$0.30.