Batticaloa Airport
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மட்டக்களப்பு சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் මඩකලපුව ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ Batticaloa International Airport Batticaloa Airport |
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | VCCB |
| IATA code | BTC |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 3 m (10 ft ) |
| Basic data | |
| opening | November 17, 1958 / March 25, 2018 |
| operator | Airports and Aviation Services Ltd. |
| surface | 145.2 ha |
| Start-and runway | |
| 06/24 | 1066 m × 46 m asphalt |
The Batticaloa Airport ( Tamil யாழ்ப்பாணம் சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் , Sinhala යාපනය ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ , English Batticaloa International Airport ) is an international airport in the east of Sri Lanka . The airport is also used militarily by the Sri Lankan Air Force under the name Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Batticaloa .
history
The airport was opened on November 17, 1958 as a domestic airport under the direction of the then Department of Civil Aviation . From around 1968 Air Ceylon , the country's flag carrier , offered regular flight connections from Ratmalana via Ampara to Batticaloa, which met with great demand. After the bankruptcy of Air Ceylon and the suspension of flight connections on August 31, 1979, flight operations in Batticaloa ceased completely. When the civil war broke out in Sri Lanka on March 27, 1983, the Sri Lankan Air Force took control of the airport. The military requisitioned additional land around the airport on the grounds that the airport should be expanded, and had around 300 families relocated as a result. The dispute over adequate compensation for the displaced persons dragged on for several decades.
Until 2012, however, no fundamental expansion or renovation measures had been carried out at the airport, which is why it was increasingly falling into disrepair. On the occasion of the centenary of aviation in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan government decided to fundamentally renovate the airport in 2012. On September 3, 2012, President Mahinda Rajapaksa laid the foundation stone for a new airport terminal building. The plans also provided for a repair of the airport lighting and the construction of an apron . The renovated airport was declared open on July 10, 2016 by President Maithripala Sirisena , but initially no civil flight operations could be started because some regulations and requirements were not yet met. The management of the airport was transferred to Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on May 31, 2016 . On March 25, 2018, civil air traffic began again with regular scheduled flights from Cinnamon Air .
On October 3, 2019, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Transport announced that the three airports of Batticaloa, Jaffna and Ratmalana would be designated as international airports. In October 2019, the Indian Alliance Air announced the imminent start of flight connections between Batticaloa and several South Indian airports.
Location and facilities
The airport is located off the east coast of Sri Lanka on the elongated island of Thimilathiu in a lagoon, about 1.7 kilometers southwest of the city of Batticaloa . The mean height above sea level is only 3 meters. The airport has a runway with an asphalt surface, the dimensions 1066 × 46 meters and the orientation 0600/2400. The island location of the airport limits its expansion options, for example that of the runway to a maximum of 1560 meters. The airport area has a total area of 145.2 hectares, of which a fenced off area of 75.9 hectares is still reserved for the Sri Lankan Air Force.
The air line between Batticaloa Airport and Katunayake ( Bandaranaike International Airport ) and Ratmalana Airports is 206 km and 220 km, respectively.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d The Batticaloa Airport and its future potential. Daily FT, March 26, 2018, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Shelani de Silva: 12 year agony for airport victims. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), July 27, 1997, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Darshana Sanjeewa: Batti airport opens for service. Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka), March 25, 2018, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ^ Re-developed Batticaloa Airport unveiled for civil aviation. Daily News (Sri Lanka), March 26, 2018, accessed May 23, 2020 .
- ↑ Three domestic airports to be renamed as international airports. The Sunday Morning (Sri Lanka), October 3, 2019, accessed on May 23, 2020 .
- ^ India's Alliance Air to launch seven weekly flights to Jaffna, Batticaloa. The Island, October 16, 2019, accessed May 23, 2020 .