"7 days on foot": how to get to the capitals after the closure of Pobedilovo

      From April 22 to June 7, 2026, a major renovation of the runway will take place at the Pobedilovo airport. More than 2 billion rubles of federal funds will be allocated for this. During the renovation, the airport will completely cease accepting and sending flights, and passengers will be refunded for purchased tickets.

      Before the closure, flying out of Kirov was not only faster but often more economical: a flight to Moscow cost about 4,500 rubles, while to St. Petersburg it was approximately 6,900 rubles. Now, residents of the region will have to look for alternative and sometimes unusual routes to the two capitals.

      Kirov – Moscow

      The first option that comes to mind when planning a route is the train. The journey to Moscow takes about 15 hours on average, and a ticket in a reserved seat costs about 3,000 rubles, while in a compartment it ranges from 4,400 to 5,000 rubles. It's long, but relatively inexpensive.

      A faster option is through Nizhny Novgorod. In the morning, the "Lastochka" departs from Kirov at 6:20 and arrives at 11:04. The travel time is 4 hours and 44 minutes, and the ticket costs from 1,600 to 4,000 rubles depending on the class.

      Then comes the most interesting part — the transfer. If traveling to Moscow by train, you will have to wait from 2 to 5 hours depending on the chosen flight. Then it takes about another 4 hours on the way. In total, the entire journey will take approximately 9–11 hours.

      In terms of cost, this route will be about 3,000 rubles (1,612 rubles for the "Lastochka" and about 1,400 rubles for a seat on the Nizhny – Moscow train). A more comfortable option with business class may exceed 8,000–9,000 rubles.

      There is also an option to transfer to a plane in Nizhny Novgorod. In this case, you will have to wait for about 6 hours for the transfer, after which the flight will take just over an hour. The total cost is approximately from 7,000 rubles (1,612 rubles for the "Lastochka" and about 5,400 rubles for the plane).

      Against this background, the bus unexpectedly looks advantageous: about 6 hours on the road and approximately 1,800 rubles for a ticket. However, there are few such flights, and the comfort is inferior to the usual train carriage.

      Another option is to drive to Moscow — it's about 950 km and approximately 13 hours on the road. Gasoline will cost about 5,100 rubles. (For calculations, we took average values for gasoline consumption (8 liters per 100 km) and the price of gasoline – 68 rubles at the time of publication).

      The most radical option is to go on foot. Walking from Kirov to the capital of Russia can be done in 7 days, stopping in cities like Yaroslavl, Kostroma, and Sergiev Posad along the way. However, not everyone will be able to endure such a route. We decided to find out how many calories can be burned during this time and found that leisurely walking can help burn about 42,000 calories. For clarity, we converted this value into the number of burgers and got a result of approximately 168 burgers (one burger weighing 100 grams contains about 250 calories).

      Kirov – St. Petersburg

      The situation with St. Petersburg is more complicated. A direct train takes about 22 hours, and tickets cost from 4,500 rubles in a reserved seat and from 7,000 rubles in a compartment.

      The route through Nizhny Novgorod is again possible, but it is less convenient. The same "Lastochka" arrives at 11:04, and the next train to St. Petersburg departs either at 14:06 or at 18:15. The waiting time is from 3 to 7 hours. In total, the entire journey will take from 20 to 23 hours.

      In terms of cost, this route will be about 4,800–6,700 rubles (1,612 rubles for the "Lastochka" and from 3,176 rubles for the train to St. Petersburg).

      There is an option to transfer to a plane: you will have to wait for about 2 hours, then the flight will take almost 2 hours. But the price of such a route is already about 11,000 rubles (adding the cost of the "Lastochka" 1,612 rubles and the average ticket price for a flight from Nizhny Novgorod to St. Petersburg – 9,303 rubles), which is noticeably more expensive than a direct flight from Kirov before the airport closure.

      It is not possible to travel directly by bus to St. Petersburg, as there are simply no such options.

      The remaining option is by car: almost 1,400 km of road, about 18.5 hours on the road, and approximately 7,500 rubles for gasoline. (The calculation scheme is the same as in the Moscow route).

      And walking to St. Petersburg will take 11 days. The route is less interesting: among the cities worth visiting, we found only Cherepovets. For such activity, one can burn 66,000 calories (at a leisurely pace). In burgers, this figure is approximately equal to 264.

      What’s the conclusion

      The airport closure will significantly complicate travel for Kirov residents. The plane, which allowed reaching Moscow in a couple of hours, will temporarily disappear from available options. (Moreover, not at the most opportune time: the May holidays and the beginning of summer are periods when tourist activity among Kirov residents picks up).

      Trains and transfers in neighboring cities will likely become the most popular options. However, it is unknown whether prices will remain at the same level after the airport closure and whether they will be raised for Kirov residents due to the rush for the lack of other travel options. Regional authorities have already stated that they are considering launching additional train services to partially compensate for the absence of air travel.

      In the meantime, residents of the region will have to choose between travel time, convenience, and cost — and in most cases, they will have to sacrifice time.