Moscow Vnukovo International Airport

The Russian embassy in Tehran says a transit visa is not needed 'in case of a change of planes in an airport of the Russian Federation with a transit area, providing a subsequent flight to a destination country within 24 hours from the arrival date'. Vnukovo's border control page also sets a 24 hour limit at the airport for a person transiting on a foreign aircraft with a transfer at the airport. But no official page says that Vnukovo has a transit area where a passenger without a Russian visa can wait, and the airport's English transfer page says a change from one international flight to another includes customs and border control. So before you buy your ticket, ask the airline in writing whether you can change planes at Vnukovo with an Iranian passport and no Russian visa, and keep its answer. If your bags are checked only to Vnukovo, or your next flight is inside Russia, the airport says you pass border control, collect your bags and go through customs, so you need a visa. There are two official ways to get one. First, the ordinary transit visa: the embassy in Tehran issues it for a stay of up to 3 days when you travel by air. Second, the e-visa: Iran is on its list of countries, Vnukovo is on its list of checkpoints, and you apply at electronic-visa.kdmid.ru at least 4 days before entry, paying the fee by bank card on the site. The e-visa is single entry, you must enter and leave through checkpoints on its list, and it is for guest visits, business, tourism and events, not for transit, so ask the embassy which visa fits your trip. Its terms differ between official pages: the Tehran embassy page says 60 days validity and a stay of up to 16 days, while consular pages say 120 days and up to 30 days for applications from 23 August 2025, so check the terms when you apply.

Vnukovo has one passenger terminal, Terminal A. The -1 floor has the metro, the train, the bus stops and the baggage storage. The 1st floor is for arrivals and has the taxi rank. The 2nd floor has check-in, security, passport control and the gates: domestic gates on the left half and international gates on the right half. The 3rd floor has waiting areas, business lounges and airline offices. Lifts, ramps and escalators link the floors, and the lifts have Braille buttons and voice announcements. The airport says you can go from the domestic area to the international area without leaving the terminal. Vnukovo-3 is a separate business aviation terminal. If you have a visa and leave the airport: the Vnukovo Airport metro station is reached by an underground passage from Terminal A. A suburban train runs to Kievskiy railway station in Moscow about once an hour, from 6:15 to 23:15, and takes 35 to 40 minutes. The Aeroexpress train to Vnukovo was cancelled from 15 July 2024, so if you have heard of it, it no longer runs, even though some old signs and maps may still show its name. City bus 911 goes to Salaryevo metro station every 10 to 15 minutes and takes 18 to 20 minutes.

Ask your airline, not the airport. The airport says help for passengers with disabilities or limited mobility is given on a request sent by the airline. Tell the airline when you buy the ticket, or at the latest 48 hours before departure, and get its confirmation. Ask for help on both flights of your trip. Without an airline request you still get free basic help (being met where you arrive, a wheelchair, help moving around), but only first come, first served, and the airport cannot promise full service. When you reach the airport for a departure, phone the 24 hour line +7 (495) 436-61-89 or use the help phones at the entrance to Terminal A. Passengers who cannot hear well can write to care@vnukovo.ru. Meraj Airlines is the only Iranian airline in the airport's airline list; its flight J1 4878 to Tehran Imam Khomeini (IKA) is in the airport timetable on Mondays and Fridays up to 1 January 2027. The airport's airline page gives Meraj's phone as +98 21 63266; we could not read Meraj's own rules for help.

On arrival, passengers who need help leave the plane last: stay in your seat until staff come. Staff help you off the plane, help you get your bags if you travel alone, and take you to transport if needed. The assistance desk and a waiting area for passengers with disabilities are in the departures hall of Terminal A on the 2nd floor, on the left side; wheelchairs are given out there. Another part of the same page says the desk is to the right of the Terminal A entrance, so ask any staff member. There are also waiting areas for passengers with disabilities inside the domestic and international departure areas. The airport says you should not wait more than 20 minutes for a staff member.

With an airline request, these are free: a wheelchair, help with check-in and bags, help through the checks, help boarding, and a lift to the plane if you cannot walk. For an international flight, arrive at least 4 hours before departure: the airport asks this of all international passengers while passport control is being modernized. Bring your own medicines and food, or travel with a companion, because staff do not provide them. If you have a pacemaker, show your pacemaker card at the hand search. A paid personal escort ('Fast Track') through all checks, with or without a business lounge, can be ordered on the airport website, but it is listed for departures only. The airport pages do not say whether help continues automatically from your arriving flight to your next flight, so ask the airline to confirm help for the connection in your booking.

The airport's 24 hour help line is +7 (495) 937-55-55. The information desk is in the public departures hall on the 2nd floor of Terminal A, before security; its opening hours are not given. At the transfer check-in counters (follow the Connecting Flights signs) agents help transfer passengers. Boarding pass printers marked 'REPRINT' stand in the departure areas and near check-in counters 70, 71 and 81. The medical centre is open 24 hours, phone +7 (495) 436-26-28; the airport's pages disagree on where it is, so ask any staff member to take you there. Lost and Found: +7 (495) 436-28-38 or foundproperty@vnukovo.ru, 24 hours. Customs duty officers: +7 (495) 736-90-62. The airport has a Telegram channel (t.me/vnukovoairport_VKO) and a Telegram flight bot. Free Wi-Fi is the network 'MT_FREE'; you sign in with a phone number and a confirmation call. The airport website is in Russian, English and Chinese; it does not say which languages staff speak.

There are waiting areas with seats on every floor, and free drinking water fountains in the international and domestic departure areas and in the public hall. 29 free charging points are spread over Terminal A, including the departure areas. Sleeping pods are shown on the airport map in the domestic departure area (2nd floor) and in the public area on the 3rd floor; none are shown in the international departure area. Business lounges for international departures: Tchaikovsky and ART Lounge, after passport control in the 2nd floor atrium, and a Turkish Airlines lounge for its business class passengers. The VIP lounge on the 3rd floor is in the public area, so you cannot reach it without entering Russia. A free children's waiting area on the 2nd floor is open 24 hours for passengers with children under 7. We found no prayer room for Muslims on the airport's pages or map; the map shows only a chapel in the public departures hall. Money: the airport lists currency exchange at Globus Bank (in the 2nd floor public hall, and on the 1st floor in the international arrivals area, after security), Transstroybank (with short breaks during the day and from 23:30 to 00:30) and Round Bank (2nd floor). The ATMs on the map are all in the public area, and the map shows no exchange office or ATM inside the international departure area, so change money before you go through the checks. Baggage storage is on the -1 floor, open 24 hours, 1,000 rubles per bag per calendar day. The DoubleTree by Hilton hotel is linked from the -1 floor, and the Ekipazh hotel is within walking distance.