Sarajevo Airport

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Sarajevo Airport
Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo
Sarajevo Airport from Trebević.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code LQSA
IATA code SJJ
Coordinates

43 ° 49 '28 "  N , 18 ° 19' 54"  E Coordinates: 43 ° 49 '28 "  N , 18 ° 19' 54"  E

Height above MSL 521 m (1709  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 8 km southwest of Sarajevo
Street M18 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

Aerial view of the runway

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.

Airlines country city
Adria Airways Slovenia Ljubljana
AirArabia United Arab Emirates Sharjah
AirSerbia Serbia Belgrade
Austrian Airlines Austria Vienna
Croatia Airlines Croatia Zagreb
Eurowings Germany Cologne , Stuttgart , Berlin
FlyDubai United Arab Emirates Dubai
Lufthansa Germany Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Sweden , Norway , Denmark Stockholm , Oslo , Copenhagen
Pegasus Airlines Turkey Istanbul
Swiss Switzerland Zurich
Turkish Airlines Turkey Istanbul
Wizz Air Hungary Budapest
Qatar Airways Qatar Doha
Flynas Saudi Arabia Riyadh , Jeddah
Aegean Airlines Greece Athens
FlyBosnia United Kingdom , Saudi Arabia , Italy Riyadh , London , Rome

statistics

Number of passengers
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

  1. a b c d Statistics. flyingbosnian.blogspot.com, accessed on May 23, 2020 .

Web links

Commons : Sarajevo airport  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files