Bandaranaike International Airport

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Bandaranaike International Airport
බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපොල
கொழும்பு பன்னாட்டு வானூர்தி நிலையம்
Sri Lanka Colombo Airport.JPG
Characteristics
ICAO code VCBI
IATA code CMB
Coordinates

7 ° 10 '51 "  N , 79 ° 53' 3"  E Coordinates: 7 ° 10 '51 "  N , 79 ° 53' 3"  E

Height above MSL 9 m (30  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 35 km north of Colombo
train Express train to Colombo
Local transport Shuttle bus to Colombo main bus station every 15 minutes
Basic data
opening 1967 (reopening)
operator Airports and Aviation Services Ltd
Passengers 9,892,025 (2006)
Air freight 172,147 t (2006)
Flight
movements
78,756 (2014)
Start-and runway
04/22 3350 m × 45 m asphalt

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The Bandaranaike International Airport (sometimes also referred to as Katunayake International Airport , IATA code : CMB, ICAO code : VCBI) is currently (as of 2020) is the only airport in Sri Lanka , the international scheduled air services will be served. It is located in Katunayake , about 35 km north of Colombo . The operator is Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. The Colombo-Katunayaka-Expressway connects the capital with the airport. It also serves as the home airport and hub for SriLankan Airlines .

history

The international airport, located around 35 km north of Colombo, was established by the Royal Air Force in 1942 as the RAF Negombo air base . After the Royal Air Force ceded the airfield to the Ceylon Air Force on November 1, 1957, it was renamed Katunayake Airport . A short-term civil use took place for the first time from March 1, 1958, because the runway of the international airport Colombo-Ratmalana had to be renovated. In addition, the airport continued to be used for military purposes.

In the early 1960s, it became apparent that Ratmalana Airport, south of Colombo, which was used to handle international air traffic at the time, no longer met the requirements due to its too short runway and terminal. The Ceylon government decided to develop Katunayake Airport into a new international airport. Canada supported the project financially. In a first step, the runway was extended from 1,840 m to 3,350 m in 1965.

In 1967 the airport reopened, which was initially called Katunayake International Airport . The first locally based company was Air Ceylon , founded in 1947 , which until then had been based at Ratmalana Airport. The expansion of the terminal and the apron was completed in 1968. In 1970 the airport was first named Bandaranaike International Airport , named after the former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike (1899-1959). From 1977 it was again called Katunayake International Airport until 1995 when it was renamed Bandaranaike International Airport.

Incidents

  • On March 18, 1947, an Avro York C.1 of the Royal Air Force ( aircraft registration MW198 ) crashed shortly after taking off from RAF Station Negombo (today Bandaranaike International Airport). Shortly after take off, an engine failed. The machine could not maintain the altitude, grazed trees and crashed three kilometers north of the air force base. Of the 15 occupants, 11 were killed, 4 crew members and 7 passengers.
  • On July 24, 2001, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam carried out a terrorist attack on the airport. Numerous bombs were detonated by 14 suicide bombers, with 26 civilian and military aircraft damaged or destroyed. The action was the worst terrorist act in aviation history in terms of aircraft damage. Due to new threats, the airport was closed all day on April 27, 2007. About a month earlier, the neighboring air base was shelled by terrorists.

gallery

Web links

  • Airport data on World Aero Data ( 2006 )

Individual evidence

  1. a b c ACI ( Memento from February 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Flight International, February 7, 1958
  3. a b The Sunday Times, Building an International Airport, November 2, 2008 (English), accessed March 24, 2016
  4. accident report Avro York MW198 , Aviation Safety Network (English) retrieved on October 27 of 2019.
  5. Article by The Australian ( Memento of November 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )