Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport was opened in 1938 as the first airport in Chelyabinsk, named after the adjacent village of Shagol which has since been absorbed by the city, and can park over 40 aircraft. The airfield operated passenger flight services and was the primary airport for Chelyabinsk until 1953, when all passenger traffic was redirected to Chelyabinsk Balandino Airport.
In 2015, one of the Su-24's based at Shagol was shot down in Syria after reportedly violating Turkish airspace, worsening the relations between Turkey and Russia.[4]
On 3 January 2024, a Su-34 bomber was set on fire at the Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport by a Ukrainian saboteur according to the Ukrainian GUR.[5]
Noise complaints
Shagol is located in the north-western outskirts Chelyabinsk, but the aircraft landing at the runway have to fly over multiple dense suburban residential districts. This has caused noise concerns from local residents, who filed complaints that low-flying aircraft would wake them up at night and trigger car alarms.[6] A court order in 2013 suspended the flights of Su-24 aircraft, however, the ruling was overturned in the Supreme Court of Russia, but required the aircraft operated from the airport to increase their glideslope angle by 1.5 degrees. Some of the Su-24 aircraft based in Shagol were relocated to Syria in 2015 but returned in March 2016.[7]
External links
Photos of the aircraft stationed in Chelyabinsk Shagol airport
One of the Tu-134Sh based at the airport in 2008; used by the navigators' school for training.
