Domodedovo Airport Sale: Who Will Buy and What Passengers Can Expect
Moscow«s Domodedovo Airport is being sold after it was confiscated for state revenue. The starting price is 132 billion rubles (approximately $1.5 billion at current rates), and the airport»s debt is nearly 70 billion rubles (approximately $800 million at current rates). The lot has even been posted online on a classified ads website, and the auction for the sale of the seized airport Domodedovo is scheduled for 15:00 MSK on January 20.
Vitaliy Vantsev, a co-owner of Vnukovo, is ready to become an investor in Domodedovo — he spoke about this publicly. Who else can buy the hub, why it is necessary, and what it means for passengers — a correspondent from MSK1.RU investigated together with experts and the former owner of the airport.
What is Happening with the Airport
Businessman Anton Bakov, a former State Duma deputy who owned this airport in the 1990s, suggested that the nationalization and subsequent sale of Domodedovo is an opportunity for the state to «get money out of thin air.»
«It is clear that in this case the price for such an asset will be appropriate. The starting $1.5 billion is, let»s say, a small price. Since 2011 [when the airport was valued at $5 billion] Moscow has not become poorer, so perhaps someone will buy it cheap,« said Bakov to MSK1.RU.
Expert in civil aviation and editor-in-chief of Avia.ru portal Roman Gusarov reminded that previous airport owners were moving money abroad, so the property was seized and assets frozen.
«All our airports have been transferred to private hands. The state retains the runway, navigation equipment — everything on the airfield, but not passenger infrastructure. For an airport, a private investor is always more efficient than the state,» says the expert. «They will better organize operations, earn more, and pay more taxes.»
According to him, the airport business is generally profitable, and Domodedovo is «a lucrative piece.»
Who Will Buy Domodedovo
Anton Bakov found it difficult to speculate who might want to acquire Domodedovo. He fully allows that it could be a state structure.
«I understand if an oligarch woke up and said: »I want to be the ruler of the seas.« But to come into such a broken trough, when you»ve already made something of yourself, well, it«s tough to change your life and take on new risks, which everyone already has plenty of,» reasoned the entrepreneur.
Aviation expert Roman Gusarov thinks otherwise. According to him, Domodedovo could be bought by «Novaport Holding,» «Airports of Regions,» or the holding «Aerodinamika.»
«Novaport Holding» — the largest network of regional airports in Russia. It manages 28 airports located across the country: from Kaliningrad to Magadan.
«Airports of Regions» — a holding under whose control are 10 airports. They are located in Yekaterinburg, Samara, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and other cities.
«Aerodinamika» — also a large holding managing three airports in Krasnodar Krai.
«Sheremetyevo is unlikely, but the owners of Vnukovo have quite serious capabilities. If the Federal Antimonopoly Service says there are no problems, Vnukovo will be allowed to bid,» he added.
Executive director of the AviaPort agency Oleg Panteleev also does not believe in the interest of Sheremetyevo«s owners in purchasing.
«Sheremetyevo has a larger passenger flow than both competitors (Vnukovo and Domodedovo — Ed.) combined. If they buy Domodedovo, how will they load the new asset? And this despite Sheremetyevo operating at a load far from 100%. It»s more reasonable to attract airlines to themselves rather than split the business,« he said.
The interlocutor considered the initial cost of Domodedovo impressive and reminded of the debt burden of 70 billion rubles. He also suggested that most potential bidders would not be able to conclude the deal independently.
«A consortium could be formed, including a qualified airport operator, a financial institution, a fuel operator. One cannot rule out a turn of events where no bids are made at the proposed price, then we»ll have to wait for a new auction with a reduced starting price,« the interlocutor stated.
What Will Change for Passengers
In Anton Bakov«s opinion, nothing will change for passengers, regardless of who becomes the new airport owner. Tickets, according to the entrepreneur, will rise in price regardless of this, because everything around is becoming more expensive.
At the same time, he admits the risk that a «reshuffle» might occur at the airport and new employees will have to adapt.
Aviation expert Roman Gusarov agrees that for passengers, everything will remain the same. Oleg Panteleev also thinks so.
«For ordinary passengers, of course, it doesn»t matter who exactly buys. The main thing is that the new owner manages to build relationships with airlines, not lose those the airport already works with, and better — attract new partners,« he summarized.
Russian aviation in general is going through turbulent times: sanctions, closure of airspace, search for new logistics chains, a focus on import substitution — all this leaves its mark on air travel. 2026 is unlikely to be easy for the passenger transport market. Earlier, we spoke with experts and found out what awaits Russian aviation in the new year and what will happen with ticket prices.
