The Russian St. Petersburg Pulkovo International Airport is a hub of business aviation activity this week during the International Economic Forum (IEF), which is being held June 2 through 5 at the St. Petersburg ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre. With one day still remaining before the four-day forum closes, the airport operator reported servicing more than 120 business jets arriving for the event at FBO Pulkovo-3, the airport’s business aviation terminal.

However, business aviation traffic for the forum is still about 30 percent off from pre-pandemic levels. As in previous years, some of these business jets flew in from the U.S., whose delegation, with more than 250 people, is the largest foreign group at this year’s IEF.

While Pulkovo-3 has been the major business aviation hub in both St. Petersburg and the entire Russian Northwest, there is a possibility that this situation will change. Russian natural gas producer Gazprom recently announced plans to build an airport that will serve the needs of business aviation in Russia in the Lvashovo district of St. Petersburg.