Be at the door 2 h before domestic, 2.5–3 h before international flights.

Domestic check-in opens 2 hours before departure and international 3 hours before; both close 40 minutes before departure (airport rules page). You also clear a screening point at the terminal door before check-in, so on Moscow/St Petersburg banks arrive at least 2 hours early.

One building: A = domestic, C = international, gates 8–11 in the B area.

All check-in desks are in the right wing of the central hall. After the main security check on the 2nd floor under the dome, domestic passengers wait in Sector A; international passengers walk through Sector A to Sector C for passport and customs control.

Budget for a paid lounge or the 24-hour cafés; card memberships do not work here.

Collinson suspended Priority Pass and LoungeKey in Russia on 12 March 2022 (airport notice). The airport runs its own rooms: Mayak (4,100 RUB, 3 h max, shower), Kurshsky Zaliv business lounge (6,800 RUB) and the international Dyuny lounge (5,500 RUB). 24-hour landside coffee at Coffeetino and Spaten Haus; Coffeeshop Company airside near gates 8–11 is also 24 h.

Expect knock-on delays on Moscow/St Petersburg flights; keep a paper boarding pass.

The airport itself operates normally, but drone-related airspace restrictions around Moscow and St Petersburg regularly delay or cancel KGD flights to those cities (e.g. 13 delayed and 14 cancelled on 16 June 2026, Kommersant). The airport has also warned of mobile-internet outages and asks passengers to arrive early and print boarding passes.