The country had been flying by jet aircraft for three years by that time. Norilsk received its first heavy An-10 turboprop aircraft in March 1961. The jet made regular flights on the Moscow – Syktyvkar – Norilsk route. It covered the distance of almost 4000 kilometers in both directions in 6 hours 25 minutes.
The airport in Alykel (a settlement near Norilsk) was commissioned in 1965. From that moment, regular year-round transportation of passengers and goods began on the Il-18, An-24, Yak-40, An-12 liners. That fact ensured a rapid growth in air traffic. The air passengers in 1973 compared to 1950 were transported eight times more.
Until the end of the 1980s, electric trains traveled from Octyabrskaya Square to Alykel. Then a highway appeared, and it became unprofitable to maintain the railway connection between the city and the airport.
Text: Varvara Sosnovskaya, Photo: Nornickel Polar Branch archive
