 The airport's history began in 1930 when project Mariupol Airport started (officially named Zhdanov Airport [Жданов Аеропорт] at the time of construction because the city was named Zhdanov until 1989).The first flight was made on a Putilov Stal-3 from Mariupol to Berdyansk in the spring of 1931.However, due to economic problems, the airport was inactive until the autumn of 1932 and did not establish regular flights before the beginning of World War II.