Perm International Airport is an international airport located in Perm Krai, Russia located southwest of Perm, in the village of Bolshoye Savino. It is the only airport in Perm Krai with scheduled commercial flights. There are bus and minibus services during daytime to Perm's main bus terminus.It is a joint civil-military airfield with a small number of fighter and bomber pads. It is operated by 764 IAP, the only regiment of combat aviation in the 5th Army of VVS and PVO's area . However, according to Air Forces Monthly, July 2007, the 764th Regiment reports directly to Russian Air Force headquarters.HistoryConstruction of Bolshoye Savino took place in 1952 under the personal control of Marshal Zhukov, who was exiled by Stalin after World War II into the Urals to take command of the Ural Military District. On May 1, 1960 the pilots of 764 IAP Boris Ajvazyan and Sergey Safronov were involved in the interception of the United States U-2 spy aircraft; unfortunately Safronov, piloting a MiG-19, was shot down by friendly fire and died.The year 1965 marked a major change in the airfield's operation. Bolshoye Savino became a joint civil airport, servicing medium-sized airliners, now with 39 parking spots near terminal and cargo area.During the Cold War the airfield operated up to 38 MiG-25 interceptors, with a number of Yak-25, and Yak-28 aircraft and received modern MiG-31s in 1991. In 2002, the runway was lengthened from 2,500 to 3,200 meters.
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