Vnukovo was the eleventh-busiest airport in Europe in 2021 but had a strong decline in traffic and dropped to 30th place in 2022 as a consequence of sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[citation needed] Its construction was approved by the Soviet government in 1937 because the older Khodynka Aerodrome (located much closer to the city centre, but closed by the 1980s) was becoming overloaded.

[citation needed] Vnukovo was built by several thousand inmates of Likovlag, a Gulag concentration camp created specifically for this purpose, and opened on 1 July 1941.

[citation needed] On 15 September 1956, the Tupolev Tu-104 jetliner made its first passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Irkutsk via Omsk.

[citation needed] On 4 November 1957, a plane carrying Romanian Workers' Party officials, including the most prominent politicians of Communist Romania (Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Chivu Stoica, Alexandru Moghioroș, Ştefan Voitec, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Leonte Răutu, and Grigore Preoteasa), was involved in an accident at Vnukovo Airport.

[8] Vnukovo Airport is equipped with a VIP hall, which is used by many political leaders and important people visiting Russia.

The Tupolev airliner rework facility is located at the edge of the airport, and major overhaul and modification programmes are carried out in several large aircraft hangars.

[citation needed] The prospective development programme was intended to last until 2015,[needs update] and was aimed at transforming Vnukovo International into a highly competitive air transportation hub of international significance – one that would offer a comprehensive range of quality services to both its passengers and its tenant carriers.

The oldest of the Vnukovo passenger terminals, dating back to 1941, will be demolished by the time construction of the new one goes ahead (it was started to be dismantled in November 2005).

The existing taxiways are to be extended as part of the expansion and new ones will also be built, along with a brand new control tower, an extension to the cargo terminal, and a multistory car park.

Before 31 July 2024 Aeroexpress direct line was connecting Vnukovo Airport and Kiyevsky Rail Terminal in Moscow city centre (operations launched in August 2005).