Sarajevo Airport
| Sarajevo Airport Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo |
|
|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LQSA |
| IATA code | SJJ |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 521 m (1709 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 8 km southwest of Sarajevo |
| Street |
 Kurta Šorka
|
| Local transport | Bus, taxi, rental car |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 2nd June 1969 |
| operator | BHDCA |
| Terminals | 2 (second under construction) |
| Passengers | 1,143,680 (2019) |
| Air freight | 2,523.5 t (2019) |
| Flight movements |
13,671 (2019) |
| Capacity ( PAX per year) |
10,000 people (Terminal B under construction) |
| Start-and runway | |
| 12/30 | 2600 m × 45 m asphalt |
| website | |
| https://www.sarajevo-airport.ba/ | |
The Sarajevo Airport ( IATA : SJJ , ICAO : IQSa ; Bosnian Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo ; and Sarajevo-Butmir ) is the international passenger airport of Sarajevo , capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina . It is operated by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation and served as the home base for B&H Airlines , which, however, ceased operations in 2015. Now it serves as the home base of the airline FlyBosnia .
history
The capture of the airport by the Yugoslav People's Army on the night of April 4th to 5th, 1992 marked the beginning of the four-year siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War .
In 2005 there were plans on the part of the Bosnian administration to name the airport after the Bosniak politician Alija Izetbegović . This was prevented by the then high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paddy Ashdown, on the grounds that it was tantamount to a provocation against the other ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Passenger traffic in these areas began before World War II. In 1930 the Belgrade - Sarajevo - Podgorica line was opened. Smaller passenger planes were in use and a military airport in Rajlovac was used during this time. The civil air traffic was carried out by the Belgrade-based airline Aeroput with the French aircraft Potez 29. In 1970 the connection with Frankfurt became the first international connection.
At the beginning of the Second World War, all civil aviation activities in the territory of what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were suspended. After the end of the war, practically since 1947, regular civil air traffic to Sarajevo between Sarajevo, Belgrade and Zagreb was restored. The traffic is operated by the new Yugoslav-Soviet company JUSTA and uses Butmir Airport for its activities. This company has been in operation for a little over a year since the decision of the government of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) to establish the domestic company Yugoslav Airlines , better known as JAT, due to the conflict with the USSR . The majority of the JAT fleet at that time consisted of Dakota (DC-3) aircraft with 24 passenger seats. Traffic to the legendary DC-3 has been in operation for 22 years.
Due to the increased demand and the introduction of new types of jet aircraft, which required solid concrete substrates for maneuvering surfaces, the idea of building a new airport in Sarajevo was initiated. After many years of analyzing and examining the location of the future airport, it was decided to choose the location in Sarajevo Polje in the immediate vicinity of the existing Butmir Grass airport. Construction itself began in late 1965 and took a little over three years. The necessary airport infrastructure was built: runway, taxiways, platform, modest terminal and administration building. The control tower was also part of the airport building. The radio navigation equipment (R / NAV) at the airport made it possible to accept all types of aircraft, including Category C, both during night flights and in complex weather conditions (VFR and IFR flights).
Finally, on June 2, 1969, Sarajevo-Ilidza Airport , as it was officially called at the time, was officially opened to civil air traffic.
With the opening of a new international airport, new routes and opportunities for the development of civil aviation were also opened up. Passenger and air traffic increased from year to year during this period, but Sarajevo Airport continued to play the role of the "dining airport". the role of the airport in supplying passengers with airports in Belgrade and Zagreb .
With Sarajevo's application for the 1984 Winter Olympics (ZOI '84), the basic equipment of the airport has to be expanded: Extension of the existing runway, construction of a new parallel taxiway, a new terminal and an air traffic control system with a new control tower. At the same time, opportunities are being sought to install new R / NAV devices in order to reduce the minimum operating conditions for flight operations and thus to increase the frequency of landing and take-off processes. This challenging idea was turned into reality before the start of the 1984 Winter Olympics. The runway was extended by 150 m. A new taxiway, an extended work platform, was trained. Completely new runway and taxiway lighting was installed, the planned R / NAV funds (three VORs and a new ILS) were acquired and finally a new, highly functional airport terminal building was built. The terminal building received all the amenities that are common at international airports. This made Sarajevo Airport one of the best equipped airports in this part of Europe. Technically and personally, he was fully prepared to welcome the start of the games.
During the games and shortly before the start, the traffic increased, so that between 50 and 70 flight movements were carried out daily. For the first time, we also landed JAT's largest passenger aircraft, the DC-10, on a flight direct from New York . In addition, the landing of large L-1011 Tristar, B-707, DC-8 and many other intercontinental aircraft has been reported on several occasions. It is important to emphasize that on the last day of ZOI '84 a record daily turnover was achieved: around 14,000 passengers were handled promptly and without errors.
Location and transport links
The airport is located about eight kilometers southwest of the city center of Sarajevo in the district of the city of Ilidža, which belongs to the Sarajevo canton . He has a road connection from Kurta Šorka 36.
Airlines and Destinations
Sarajevo is connected to major European city destinations by several airlines.
statistics
| Year month | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Year total | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 53,485 | 53,130 | 67,893 | 89,843 | 74,178 | 119.205 | 180.929 | 178,943 | 105,370 | 95,628 | 67,358 | 57,718 | 1,143,680 | + 9.27% |
| 2018 | 54,147 | 48,986 | 65,991 | 86,995 | 81.026 | 92.997 | 159,380 | 159.506 | 98,227 | 83,660 | 62,253 | 53,417 | 1,046,635 | + 9.26% |
| 2017 | 43,377 | 41,122 | 57,381 | 79,796 | 84.127 | 78.170 | 140.025 | 144.166 | 100,923 | 80,769 | 57,887 | 50,218 | 957.971 | + 14.18% |
| 2016 | 41.208 | 42,567 | 53,438 | 68,085 | 85,738 | 66,429 | 109.141 | 118.344 | 91.123 | 71,360 | 47,352 | 44.181 | 838.966 | + 8.55% |
| 2015 | 43,700 | 39,908 | 50.273 | 63,064 | 80.143 | 74,855 | 89,319 | 101,307 | 79,120 | 71,255 | 51,793 | 28,167 | 772.904 | + 8.87% |
| 2014 | 36,114 | 35,435 | 45,789 | 56,611 | 71,513 | 74,976 | 79,948 | 88,591 | 71,168 | 64,844 | 46,833 | 43,079 | 709.901 | + 12.08% |
| 2013 | 33,437 | 30,399 | 44,631 | 56,918 | 65,495 | 72,949 | 69,699 | 79,796 | 66,721 | 64,387 | 44,446 | 36,760 | 665,638 | + 14.75% |
| 2012 | 33,247 | 26,278 | 36,765 | 49,709 | 55.107 | 62,491 | 69,346 | 60,787 | 60,323 | 52,115 | 38,612 | 35,278 | 580.058 | - 3.32% |
| 2011 | 30,484 | 34,148 | 40,803 | 49,489 | 56,812 | 62,994 | 81,042 | 59,042 | 59,074 | 52,957 | 39,785 | 33,348 | 599,978 | + 6.52% |
| 2010 | 31,746 | 28,850 | 37,657 | 39.907 | 51,398 | 59,636 | 72,615 | 60,475 | 54,753 | 51,137 | 40,912 | 34,180 | 563.266 | + 5.50% |
| 2009 | 28.117 | 27,266 | 33,909 | 41,390 | 45,921 | 57,588 | 67,930 | 60,746 | 48,802 | 46,773 | 39,494 | 35,979 | 533.915 | + 5.43% |
| 2008 | 23,909 | 27.121 | 34,896 | 38.052 | 46,974 | 55.391 | 62,524 | 61,560 | 42,752 | 46.094 | 34,089 | 32,913 | 506,398 | + 0.2% |
| 2007 | 32,235 | 28,028 | 35,168 | 42,297 | 43,633 | 53,281 | 59,436 | 57,381 | 45.113 | 43,980 | 31,952 | 32,735 | 505.269 |
Airport at war
When the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina began, the traffic increased. The local charter airline AIR COMMERCE , which carried more than 40,000 passengers from October 1991 to March 1992 , made a special contribution .
Shortly before the aggression, UNPROFOR units arrived at the airport. Peacekeepers. A motorized unit of the Canadian Army is stationed at the airport. Those who knew the aggression in some way and were preparing for it are pulling families from Sarajevo. The families of the JNA members fly with military aircraft. You leave Sarajevo by air as the safest means of transport because there are "bouldering barricades" on the streets. Foreign nationals also leave the country.
The aggression officially begins in some way with the occupation of Sarajevo Airport, which is occupied by a former JNA unit. On the night of April 4th to 5th, 1992, the JNA - members of the Rajlovac Aviation Academy - occupied the airport and held it in their hands until mid-June. He then hands it over to the Serbian paramilitaries who, by taking over the airport, are tackling the general looting and destruction of equipment, radios and everything else that could not be transported to Belgrade and the areas controlled by Serbia.
A sad time follows. Every civil flight is completely suspended.
UNPROFOR units that are still stationed at the airport are gradually starting to renew military air traffic. The mandate was given to the French Air Force on the slopes of the French DETAIR Aircraft Detachment. The airport is now used exclusively for military and partially humanitarian purposes to provide the population of Sarajevo with essential food. Occasionally there are evacuations of seriously ill and injured citizens as well as the transport of various "peace" delegations.
From 1992 to 1995. It took the longest humanitarian airlift to supply a city under siege. With almost 13,000 completed flights and a term of more than three years, the volume and timing of the airlift that Western allies had set up to supply West Berlin were significantly exceeded.
By the time the DB ( Dobrinja - Butmir Tunnel ) was excavated under the runway of Sarajevo airport, more than 800 people had lost their lives on the airport premises. This was due to the runway of the airport, as only basic food was needed, which could be obtained from the free parts in Butmir and Hrasnica. A Serbian paramilitary unit near the airport mercilessly shot at a civilian who was trying to get to the other side of the airport.
Since April 1996, part of the airport has been administered by civil authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From that moment on, the struggle to restore the true functioning of Sarajevo Airport - civil aviation - begins. Some of the used equipment was donated to the airport, the sorting system was repaired and converted into an emergency terminal. After a short apprenticeship in Turkey, workers take up their long-awaited jobs and slowly make progress.
Sarajevo Airport will open to civil traffic on August 15, 1996. This event was the greatest dream of all employees.
Airport after the war
Immediately after the airport opens, Croatia Airlines will establish a connection between Sarajevo and Zagreb and the Turkish airline Top Air between Sarajevo and Istanbul. By the end of the year, Sarajevo Airport had a traffic volume of 26,000 passengers and was the only civil aviation airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. All maneuvering areas, airport technical facilities and a control tower with control tower must be repaired.
The general renovation of the airport terminal with completely new technology and high-quality equipment was successfully completed at the beginning of 2001. The opening ceremony in March 2001 completes all facilities with regard to the needs and comfort of the passengers and officially heralds a new period of quality work and top results.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Statistics. flyingbosnian.blogspot.com, accessed on May 23, 2020 .
Web links
- Airport data on World Aero Data ( 2006 )
- Airport data in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
- Official website of Sarajevo Airport (Bosnian, English)
