On January 26, 2021 the function was carried out to open Chelyabinsk International Airport after renovation and rebranding. The airport acquired its name from Igor Vasilievich Kurchatov who was a prominent native of the region and one of the founders of the domestic nuclear industry.
The opening of the renovated airport was confined to the 75th celebration of domestic nuclear industry. The Chelyabinsk Airport was named after Igor Kurchatov on May 31, 2019 when President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed a ruling on assignment of names of prominent Russians to airports. The choice was made after the All-Russia Contest “Great Names of Russia”.
Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Aleksei Teksler, Director General of ROSATOM Aleksei Likhachev, Director of NRC Kurchatovski Institute Aleksander Blagov, and Chairman of the Board of IC AEON Roman Trotsenko took part in the function devoted to the airport opening.
“Igor Kurchatov was closely related to this place. It is not because that he was born in the city of Sim. The main thing is that the soviet “Atomic Project” was born here, which the 75th anniversary we celebrated last year. The new design of the airport will tell about Igor Kurchatov, history of nuclear science and power and the role of nuclear technologies in the modern world”, Aleksei Likhachev said at the function.
Aleksei Teksler noted: “The residents of Chelyabinsk choose the name of the airport; they voted for the name of prominent scientist, the man who not only worked in Chelyabinsk Region but was born here. ROSATOM and country’s nuclear power were explicitly connected with Igor Kurchatov. In the new airport, on each wall and in each corner there is a link to science. One can use a gadget to view and study information which is literally everywhere. Esthetically, the airport looks worthily. Today, the airport is ready to receive 2.5 mln passengers a year as minimum; but in fact its capabilities have increased several times. We continue (and, I hope, complete) renovation of the international terminal and our airport will become a full air gateway to the South Urals”.
