Jaffna Airport
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யாழ்ப்பாணம் சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் යාපනය ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ Jaffna International Airport Jaffna Airport |
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | VCCJ |
| IATA code | JAF |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 10 m (33 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 15 km north of Jaffna |
| Street | AB118 to Jaffna |
| Basic data | |
| opening | December 10, 1947 / October 17, 2019 |
| operator | Airports and Aviation Services Ltd. |
| Start-and runway | |
| 05/23 | 1400 m × 30 m asphalt |
The Jaffna Airport ( Tamil யாழ்ப்பாணம் சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் , Sinhala යාපනය ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ , English Jaffna International Airport ), after its location sometimes Airport Kankesanturai , formerly Palaly Airport , is an international airport in the north of Sri Lanka . The airport is also used militarily by the Sri Lankan Air Force .
history
The airport goes back to an airfield that was built by the British colonial powers during the Second World War. The airfield had a 2000 meter long runway and was mainly used for search and rescue operations by the Royal Air Force in the Indian Ocean. After the independence of Ceylon on February 4, 1948 (the name was changed to Sri Lanka took place only in 1972), the airfield was on 10 December 1947 as airport Palaly ( Palaly Airport ) with a total area of 359 acres (145 ha opened) for civil aviation. From the airport there were flights to India and other airports in Sri Lanka (mainly Colombo). The first international flight was the flight of a Douglas DC-3 of Air Ceylon from Colombo to Jaffna and then to Madras on December 10, 1947.
During the time of the civil war in Sri Lanka (1983 to 2009), the management of the airport passed into the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces. They requisitioned a further 646 acres (261 ha) in the vicinity for airport use. During the civil war, the airport was used exclusively for military purposes. In particular at the time the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) was stationed in Sri Lanka according to the India-Sri Lankan Agreement in 1987, there were many flight connections between South India and Jaffna, but these were purely military in nature.
After the political change following the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015 , joint plans were developed between Sri Lanka and India for the reopening of the civil airport. On March 14, 2016, the director of Chennai Airport flew with a team to Palay to conduct technical and feasibility studies. When planning the expansion, multiple politically motivated resistance had to be overcome. Sinhala politicians in the south feared that the expansion of Jaffna airport would come at the expense of the southern airports. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is the political leader among the Sri Lankan Tamils , called for the airport to be expanded into an international airport. The government under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe , which relied on parliamentary support from the TNA, approved this plan. In addition, in a kind of overall concept, the parallel expansion of the Ratmalana and Batticaloa airports to international airports was decided.
Jaffna Airport reopened on October 17, 2019. The first international flight was an ATR 72 from Alliance Air (a regional airline of Air India ), which landed here on the opening day.
description
The airport is located about 1 kilometer from the coast of the Indian Ocean ( Bay of Bengal ) in the Sri Lankan community of Kankesanturai , about 15 kilometers north-northeast of the city center of Jaffna. According to official information from the Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority, it has a runway measuring 1400 × 30 meters and an airport terminal with apron . The runway, which has been extended to 2,389 m, is reserved for military use, ie only the first 1,400 m can be used for civil air traffic.
Incidents
There have been a number of incidents in the past at or near the airport. Most of the fatal incidents were terrorist-motivated aircraft killings during the civil war:
- On July 5, 1992, a Shaanxi Yunshuji Y-8D of the Sri Lankan Air Force, loaded with weapons and ammunition , on a flight from Colombo to Jaffna, was shot down by the Tamil Tigers , killing all 19 occupants on board.
- On April 28, 1995, one of the two engines of a Hawker-Siddeley HS 748 of the Sri Lankan Air Force caught fire shortly after taking off from Jaffna Airport. The pilot then tried to return to the airport. The right wing broke off 200 meters from the runway and the machine went up in flames on the ground. None of the 45 inmates survived. According to reports, the aircraft was by a 9K32 Strela-2 - Ground-to-air missile of the Tamil Tigers hit.
- On April 29, 1995, a second Hawker-Siddeley HS 748 of the Sri Lankan Air Force, which was traveling from Anuradhapura Airport in the direction of Jaffna, was also hit by a Tamil Tigers surface-to-air missile at an altitude of about 1000 meters . All 52 inmates died.
- On November 18, 1995, a Shaanxi Yunshuji Y-8D of the Sri Lankan Air Force was shot down by a Tamil Tigers boat with a 20mm Oerlikon cannon , killing five of the six occupants on board.
- On November 22, 1995, an Antonov An-32B of the Sri Lankan Air Force was flown into the sea during a night approach. It was a controlled flight into water . Shortly before the impact, the flight captain asked air traffic control to turn on the runway lights. All 62 occupants of the machine died in the accident.
- On January 20, 1997, a Harbin Y-12 of the Sri Lankan Air Force crashed over the sea while searching for a Tamil Tiger boat . All 4 inmates died.
- On September 29, 1998, an Antonov An-24RW , which had recently taken off from Jaffna and was operated by the Belarusian Gomelavia for the Lionair from Sri Lanka, suddenly crashed into the sea from its climb. All 55 people on board were killed. The Tamil Tigers claimed responsibility for the shooting down (see also Lionair flight 602 ) .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c N. Lohathayalan: The Jaffna International Airport: Fulfilling Sri Lankan aspirations. Daily FT, October 17, 2019, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Sura Ratwatte: Jaffna International Airport. Daily FT, October 22, 2019, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Aerodrome data Kankesanturai / Jaffna Airport (VCCJ). (pdf) Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, October 14, 2019, accessed on May 5, 2020 .
- ^ Accident report Y-8D, CR872 in the Aviation Safety Network
- ↑ Friday 28 April 1995: British Aerospace BAe-748-334 Srs. 2A operating for Sri Lanka Air Force. AviationSafetyNetwork, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Saturday April 29, 1995: British Aerospace BAe-748-357 Srs. 2B SCD operating for Sri Lanka Air Force. AviationSafetyNetwork, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ^ Accident report Y-8D, CR871 in the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Accident report An-32B, CR862 in the Aviation Safety Network
- ↑ Monday 20 January 1997: Harbin Yunshuji Y-12 II, Operator: Sri Lanka Air Force. AviationSafetyNetwork, accessed May 5, 2020 .