Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Characteristics
ICAO code	TNCS
IATA code	SAB
Coordinates	17 ° 38 '43 " N , 63 ° 13' 14" W Coordinates: 17 ° 38 '43 " N , 63 ° 13' 14" W.
Height above MSL	42 m (138 ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	11 km northeast of The Bottom
Street	"The Road"
Basic data
opening	1963
operator	Executive Council of the Island of Saba
Terminals	1
Passengers	26,570 (2017)
Flight ; movements	2590 (2017)
Start-and runway
12/30	303 m × 18 m concrete

The Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport ( IATA code : SAB, ICAO code : TNCS) is the only airport on Saba , one of three Dutch BES Islands in the Caribbean . It is considered one of the most demanding airports in the world due to one of the shortest commercial runways.

history

The island of Saba, with its mountainous profile and lacking large flat areas, was considered unsuitable for an airport. On February 9, 1959, the aviation pioneer and later mayor of St. Barth , Rémy de Haenen (1916–2008), dared a spectacular landing on a makeshift runway at Flat Point, thus demonstrating the possibility in principle of flying to the island by plane. As a result, at the beginning of the 1960s, construction began on an airport at the same flat point, which opened on September 18, 1963. The airport was named after Juan ("Juancho") Enrique Irausquin, a former Minister for Finance and Social Affairs of the Netherlands Antilles , who had been instrumental in the construction.

Infrastructure

Because the runway length permitted for landing is very short at around 300 meters, jets can not land on the airfield; it can only be approached by STOL aircraft . The airport has a small apron and a terminal on the south side. There is a helipad on the apron . In the terminal is an office from Winair , the office for immigration and security, a fire department with a vehicle and a tower . The tower is only an advice center and does not provide air traffic control . Furthermore, there is no jet fuel on the island of Saba.

The tasks of airport security are not taken over by the police or by the Koninklijke Marechaussee , which is responsible by law , but by members of the island administration.

In March 2017, the local fire brigade received a modern fire engine for the airport for the first time .

Airlines and destinations

The runway of the Juancho E. Yrausquin airport

The only airline that flies to the airport on a regular basis is Winair , which operates several direct flights daily from its home airport, Princess Juliana International Airport on Sint Maarten, to Saba with a DHC-6 Twin Otter . The flight takes about 15 minutes.

The airline Windward Express Airways offers charter flights with two Britten Norman Islanders and one Piper Aztec . The starting point is also the Princess Juliana International Airport.

Despite all the restrictions, more than 2500 aircraft movements take place at the airport each year, carrying over 20,000 passengers.

particularities

Due to its unfavorable geographical location and the extremely short runway, the airport is one of the most demanding airports in the world, although not a single accident has occurred so far. The last 50 meters at either end of the airport's only runway are marked with an "X" and are not available for landings. The airport can only be approached with a special permit from the Dutch Aviation Authority.

On the southern side it goes steeply up the mountain, on the northern side and at both ends of the runway cliffs fall almost perpendicular to the sea. Therefore, in an emergency, there is no way to let the aircraft taxi beyond the end of the runway, the aircraft would fall into the sea , similar to an aircraft carrier .

The airport can be seen from some places on the neighboring island of Sint Maarten.

Web links

Commons : Saba Airport - Collection of images, videos and audio files

AD 2 TNCS-13 ADC. (PDF; 1.88 MB) Airport map of Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. In: eAIS / eAIP-Publications / 2020-03-26. Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP), December 16, 2014(English).; accessed on April 22, 2020
Kerry Hanger: Shortest runway in the world? Cockpit video of a landing, which shows the extreme shortness of the runway. In: YouTube . March 15, 2007 (English).; accessed on April 19, 2020
Government of Saba Departments - Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. In: sabagov.nl. Island Government of Saba(English).; accessed on April 19, 2020
About Saba - Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. In: sabatourism.com. Saba Tourist Bureau(English).; accessed on April 19, 2020

Remarks

↑ 401 meters (TORA) are available for takeoffs.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Caribbean Netherlands; Aviation, monthly airport data. In: StatLine. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), March 4, 2020, accessed April 19, 2020 .
↑ AD2.1TNCS. (PDF; 226 kB) eAIP with the official airport data. In: eAIS / eAIP-Publications / 2020-03-26. Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP), February 12, 2020, accessed on April 22, 2020 .
↑ Saba Airport: The shortest runway in the world. In: Travelbook. Axel Springer SE , March 5, 2018, accessed on April 19, 2020 .
↑ Remy de Haenen: “Lord of the Air”. In: The Daily Herald . January 22, 2011, archived from the original on May 23, 2018 ; accessed on April 19, 2020 (English).
↑ The "Y" instead of "I" results from a transmission error in the official documents, see About Saba: Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
^ Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
↑ Will Johnson: Juan Enrique Irausquin. In: The Saba Islander. Will Johnson, October 30, 2015, accessed April 19, 2020 .
↑ Regeling - Veiligheidswet BES - BWBR0028586. In: Wetten.overheid.nl. Kennis- en Exploitatiecentrum Officiële Overheidspublicaties, accessed on April 19, 2020 (Dutch).
^ Departments - Security Department. In: sabagov.nl. Island Government of Saba, accessed April 19, 2020 .
↑ Brandweerkorps doopt nieuwe crash tender. In: bonaire.nu. ABC Online Media, March 24, 2017, accessed April 19, 2020 (Dutch).
^ Flight Information. In: windwardexpress.com. Windward Express Airways, accessed April 19, 2020 .
^ Government of Saba Departments - Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. In: sabagov.nl. Island Government of Saba, accessed April 19, 2020 .
↑ Airport data Saba-Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on April 19, 2020.

[3] 401 meters (TORA) are available for takeoffs.

[statistics-1] Caribbean Netherlands; Aviation, monthly airport data. In: StatLine. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), March 4, 2020, accessed April 19, 2020 .

[AIP-2] AD2.1TNCS. (PDF; 226 kB) eAIP with the official airport data. In: eAIS / eAIP-Publications / 2020-03-26. Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Service Provider (DC-ANSP), February 12, 2020, accessed on April 22, 2020 .

[4] Saba Airport: The shortest runway in the world. In: Travelbook. Axel Springer SE , March 5, 2018, accessed on April 19, 2020 .

[5] Remy de Haenen: “Lord of the Air”. In: The Daily Herald . January 22, 2011, archived from the original on May 23, 2018 ; accessed on April 19, 2020 (English).

[6] The "Y" instead of "I" results from a transmission error in the official documents, see About Saba: Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport

[7] Biblioteca Nacional Aruba

[8] Will Johnson: Juan Enrique Irausquin. In: The Saba Islander. Will Johnson, October 30, 2015, accessed April 19, 2020 .

[9] Regeling - Veiligheidswet BES - BWBR0028586. In: Wetten.overheid.nl. Kennis- en Exploitatiecentrum Officiële Overheidspublicaties, accessed on April 19, 2020 (Dutch).

[10] Departments - Security Department. In: sabagov.nl. Island Government of Saba, accessed April 19, 2020 .

[11] Brandweerkorps doopt nieuwe crash tender. In: bonaire.nu. ABC Online Media, March 24, 2017, accessed April 19, 2020 (Dutch).

[12] Flight Information. In: windwardexpress.com. Windward Express Airways, accessed April 19, 2020 .

[13] Government of Saba Departments - Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport. In: sabagov.nl. Island Government of Saba, accessed April 19, 2020 .

[14] Airport data Saba-Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in the Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on April 19, 2020.