Russian President Putin Aircraft Almost Goes onto Wrong Taxiway at Elmendorf

ALASKA- President Vladimir Putin’s official aircraft VIP encountered confusion while taxiing after landing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (EDF) in Anchorage, Alaska. The air traffic control (ATC) exchange shows the crew initially attempted to turn onto the wrong taxiway.

Delta 111, the callsign assigned to the Russian VIP flight, had landed safely on runway 06 when controllers instructed the crew to exit at the runway’s end. Instead, the pilots began an earlier right turn, prompting repeated corrections from the tower before ground control issued new routing instructions.

photo: By Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51696017

Putin’s Aircraft Almost Goes onto Wrong Taxiway

The ATC recording highlights the sequence. After clearance to land on runway 06, the tower instructed Delta 111 to continue to the end of the runway before turning right and contacting ground on 121.8 MHz. The crew, however, initiated a premature right turn before reaching the designated exit.

Controllers intervened immediately: “Not a right turn there… continue straight ahead.” This directive was repeated multiple times to prevent the VIP aircraft from entering an incorrect taxiway.

Only after the confusion was cleared did ground control redirect the aircraft northwest of the airfield, instructing the pilots to remain north of runway 06 and west of taxiway Delta.

Elmendorf Air Force Base, part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage (ANC), is a critical U.S. Air Force installation. It is often used for military, government, and occasional diplomatic flights requiring heightened security measures.

For international state visits, VIP aircraft are typically given priority handling and controlled taxi routes to ensure safety on the ground.

In this case, while the incident did not pose a direct safety risk, it underscores the complexity of managing VIP traffic at military airports. Even minor deviations, such as a wrong taxiway turn, require swift ATC intervention to maintain order and safety.

VIP and head-of-state aircraft often operate under unique procedures. Callsigns may be blocked from ADS-B systems for security reasons, as was the case here. This limits public visibility of the flight path and is standard practice for military or government aircraft.

Photo: By Quintin Soloviev – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110510516

ATC and Pilot Communication

Here’s a detailed transcript of ATC and the Putin aircraft pilot as flagged by VASAviation:

{ts:12}
Tower: Delta 111, good morning. Continue approach, runway 06.

{ts:20}
Tower: Delta 111 tower, good morning. Runway 06, wind 304 [degrees]. Cleared to land.
Pilot (Delta 111): Cleared to land, runway 06.

{ts:29}
Tower: I see you at Hunson, VIP aircraft, and in-trail aircraft now 8 miles.

{ts:41}
[Applause]

{ts:86}
Tower: Romeo Delta 111, you can turn right at the end. Contact ground 121.8.

{ts:101}
Tower: Delta 111, continue on the runway. Turn right at the end and ground 121.8.

{ts:109}
[Applause]
Tower: Romeo here, Delta 111. Continue on the runway, and you can exit right at the very end. Contact ground.

{ts:128}
Tower: Romeo Delta 111, not a right turn there. Continue straight ahead.

{ts:140}
Tower: Romeo Delta 111, negative. Not a right turn there, you want to continue on the runway straight ahead.

{ts:149}
Tower: Romeo Delta 111, Elmo Tower, Hunt Tower. Go ahead.

{ts:157}
Ground: Sir, I’ve got orders. I’ve got to move you to the northwest of the airfield. Please, if you could make your way northwestbound and stay north of runway 06 and west of taxiway Delta.
Pilot: Okay, north of 6, west of Delta in the turn.

For pilots operating into unfamiliar airfields—particularly military bases where taxiway layouts differ from civilian airports—strict compliance with tower directions is critical. In this event, the crew’s initial deviation was quickly corrected, demonstrating effective controller oversight.

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