Digitalization at Pulkovo Airport

2025: How Pulkovo Airport turned import substitution into a leadership strategy. CIO Andrey Nesterov - at TAdviser SummIT

Speaking at the TAdviser SummIT conference on May 29, Andrei Nesterov, Information Technology Director of the Northern Capital Air Gate (manages Pulkovo Airport), spoke about import substitution as a leadership strategy. Import substitution is a necessity, but it is about how to derive additional benefits from it.

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Фото: TAdviser

In 2020, Pulkovo Airport, being at that time the 4th airport in Russia and only the 56th in terms of service, revised its strategy, set a goal to become the number one in terms of service and become a technological leader in order to ensure this. In comparison with Moscow airports, which by that time had already managed to introduce and re-install some key systems, Pulkovo airport was moving rather slowly.

The aviation industry is historically very dependent on imported technologies, said Andrei Nesterov. Almost everything at airports was based on imported software and PAC. At the same time, together with the products, vendors offered many additional services, and some solutions were based in the clouds, which only increased dependence on them. Therefore, Pulkovo Airport set itself the task of building its own strong internal team that could create products for the Russian aviation industry. Legislative initiatives also helped in this.

The need to replace import solutions after leaving the market of foreign vendors is, on the one hand, a challenge, and on the other, like any periods of turbulence, this is a window of opportunity to get an additional effect. This was used at Pulkovo airport to achieve technological leadership.

This was facilitated by a number of background changes. One was that it had previously been harder to defend IT projects to shareholders to get a budget. And after the story of import substitution appeared, "the story of money for shareholders faded into the background." This is due to the fact that the focus has changed: it was important to close all key risks. Thus, import substitution received great support from them.

In addition, if earlier it was difficult to "swing" the business for some changes, then the need for import substitution turned it into a partner who helped with this IT, realizing that there were no options.

Some difficulties in the import substitution process arose with foreign airlines, which are accustomed to using world IT systems at all airports. But in a situation where the introduction of alternative systems for Russian airports turned out to be necessary, and support was observed from foreign airlines that continued to operate in Russia. Interaction between the Russian airports themselves also intensified, which contributed to the transition to Russian solutions, and there was assistance from the state: platforms were created for communication and exchange of experience between industry players, to voice common needs.

Most of the foreign IT solutions that were used at Pulkovo Airport by that time were introduced back in the early 2000s, that is, a rather old stack of technologies was used, and the speed of technology development by foreign, especially European vendors, is quite low. And thanks to import substitution, it became possible to rebuild the entire IT landscape of the airport, revise the entire IT architecture: "We didn't have such an opportunity before - just take and rebuild - before," said Andrei Nesterov.

And in this restructuring, the airport used the most modern technology stack, and also assembled its own strong development team to independently develop and support solutions. At the same time, the company carefully studied the market not only for the aviation industry, but also for retail, banks, etc., in search of similar solutions in these industries that would be relevant for the airport and tried them on themselves. In addition, the airport expressed its readiness to become a test site for various new technologies, and partners began to come to Pulkovo.

If we talk about the result, then number one is extremely difficult, especially in the conditions of the current organization of all aviation in Russia and "Moscow-centric," but Pulkovo Airport has been number two in Russia for two years, overtaking both Vnukovo and Domodedovo, says Andrei Nesterov. Pulkovo has never had such a result. The rating for the service has also risen.

This result was achieved, including the replacement of a number of key IT systems. One is the airport's resource management system, which is responsible for dispatching all resources to serve aircraft. An indicator of its effectiveness means how effective the airport itself will be. Pulkovo created the first such Russian system, and decided to do it before 2022, notes Andrei Nesterov: in 2020, understanding the risks, the company decided that they would develop it themselves, while "all Moscow airports were sitting on the German" and "still think what to do with this German system." In Pulkovo, a new solution has been working instead for two years. At the same time, the project paid off in less than a year.

At the same time, in the same 2020, Pulkovo Airport switched to SAP. But already in 2025, the project for the transition from SAP to ERP "1C" was completed. This is also one of the first cases among airports, the speaker emphasized.

Together with Sheremetyevo Airport, within the framework of the industrial competence center of the ICC, an airport management system is also being developed, which manages, among other things, schedules. And in 2024, Pulkovo was the first to launch it into pilot operation.

Pulkovo was also the first to change the baggage handling control system. And now the solution, which was developed by Pulkovo together with a partner, has already been installed in, in Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo is being installed at the airport. The Pulkovo Vnukovo airport was the first to introduce a Russian platform for access to passenger registration systems.

Ahead is the continuation of import substitution, and what will happen tomorrow is being done today. There are three development vectors. The first is everything related to robotization, including unmanned ladders, baggage loading and unloading systems, robotic cleaners in the terminal, automated baggage collection and recognition systems. There are already some prototypes, some are still in development.

A separate large track goes on unmanned vehicles. There are a lot of ideas here where it can be used. For example, autonomous baggage delivery tractors, autonomous systems for cleaning airfields, etc. And the airport works in this direction with different partners. The bulk of the prototypes will be in 2025.

Another track is biometrics for the passage of all airport procedures without a passport. Piloting is scheduled for 2025, as of the end of May, the first gate is being installed. As a result of the pilot, the entire regulatory framework will be developed so that further biometrics can be scaled up to other objects of transport infrastructure.

О TAdviser SummIT

TAdviser SummIT is a platform that brings together representatives of large customers and IT suppliers, people involved in managing the largest organizations in Russia. On May 29, 2025, TAdviser SummIT was held with the participation of the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev, who in an open interview format answered acute questions from industry participants. In total, more than 1.5 thousand delegates attended the event, more than 150 reports were made in the plenary part and eight thematic sections. The main topic of the reports was to increase the efficiency of business and the state through technology and move towards technological sovereignty. More than 50 stands were deployed at the exhibition in the conference hall, where Russian IT suppliers presented their products and services.

2024: Launch of a car number recognition system to open the barrier. Coupons do not need to be taken

At the end of May 2024, the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg announced the launch of a system that allows you to abandon parking tickets. You can stay in the central passenger terminal without payment for up to 15 minutes, according to the Telegram channel of the air harbor.

Thus, drivers will no longer need to take a paper coupon when entering the airport. The license plate number of the car will be automatically recognized and recorded by the system, after which the barrier will rise automatically.

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Фото: Pulkovo Airport

If difficulties arise, you can call the manager. If the delay is longer than the allotted 15 minutes, visitors will need to pay in a special terminal, otherwise the barrier will not open. It will be possible to call the terminal again for free in half an hour, the airport press service explained.

Earlier, Pulkovo increased tariffs for short-term and long-term parking. Thus, the cost of parking P2 by May 2024 increased from 150-200 rubles to 300, and daily parking P4 rose in price to 1,500 rubles from 700.

In May 2024, signatures began to be collected in St. Petersburg in order to cancel the increase in the cost of parking tariffs at Pulkovo airport. Nadezhda Tikhonova, head of the regional branch of the Fair Russia - For Truth party, shared her plans to appeal to the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Federal Air Transport Agency on her personal Telegram channel.^[1]

2017: Digital transformation: Pulkovo Airport implements chatbots and conducts total IT integration

The airport is a technically complex facility, in ensuring the operation of which dozens of information systems are involved. Sergei Pavlov, project manager for the modernization of Pulkovo Airport application systems, spoke about how the digital transformation is taking place in the air gate of the northern capital and its unusual consequences, such as the potential invasion of chatbots into the established process control scheme. Read more here.

IT passport of digitalization projects at Pulkovo airport

{{# ITProj: Pulkovo Airport}}

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