Sarajevo International Airport
Sarajevo International Airport Međunarodni Aerodrom Sarajevo Међународни Аеродром Сарајево | |||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||
| Operator | Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation (BHDCA) | ||||||||||||
| Serves | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||||||
| Location | Butmir, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,708 ft / 521 m | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°49′29″N 018°19′53″E / 43.82472°N 18.33139°E | ||||||||||||
| Website | Official website Template:Bs iconTemplate:En icon | ||||||||||||
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Sarajevo International Airport (IATA: SJJ, ICAO: LQSA), also known as Butmir Airport, is the main international airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located just a few kilometers southwest of the capital city of Sarajevo in the suburb of Butmir.
Since the Dayton Accord in 1996, the airport has welcomed a thriving commercial flight business which includes B&H Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Jat Airways, Croatia Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others. In 2006, 466,186 passengers traveled through Sarajevo airport, compared to only 25,000 in 1996.[1]
In 2005 the European branch of the Airports Council International awarded Sarajevo the award of best airport under 1 million passengers.[2]
History
The need for an airport in Sarajevo was acknowledged in the mid 1960s and after suggestions that the airport be built Sokolac (35 km away from Sarajevo) were rejected construction of the airport began in 1966 at its present location.
The Sarajevo-Ilidža Airport opened on June 2, 1969. In 1970 Frankfurt became the first international destination served. During this period the airport was still a 'feeder' airport where passengers embarked for flights to Zagreb and Belgrade on their way to international destinations. During this period between 70,000-100,000 passengers passed through each year. The first expansion came for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, when the runway was extended by 200 meters and several adjustments were made.
In the first weeks of the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the airport was taken over by Serbian forces who seriously damaged and looted the airport.[3] From June 1992 until the end of the war the airport was under UN control which used it to fly in humanitarian aid when the besieging Serbs permitted it.[3] The airport was the site of many tragedies during the war since the only way to leave the city was to cross the airport runway and reach government territory on the other side. Around 800 people were killed in the attempt by Serb gunners on three sides of the airport, until a tunnel was dug under the runway.[3]
The airport re-opened to civilian air traffic on August 16, 1996 and has since been renovated and slowly returned to its former glory. On 18 October 2005, Paddy Ashdown, the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspended a decision by Bosnian authorities to name the airport after Alija Izetbegovic, the first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Citing his reasons, the High Representative stated that such a renaming might undermine the reconciliation process by alienating non-Bosniak citizens.[4]
News
- As of April 2009 Germanwings will increase its flights to Cologne to 3 times weekly.
- Germanwings also has plans to fly Berlin-Sarajevo route in the near future.
- Turkish Airlines will increase flights to Istanbul route from 5 weekly to daily beginning March 25, 2009.
- Lufthansa will increase frequency to Munich to 2x a day during Summer Timetable.
- Adria Airways will increase frequency to Ljubljana to 13 weekly flights during Summer Timetable.
- B&H Airlines has confirmed the introduction of new flights in their Summer 2009 timetable. Due to increasing the fleet, BH Airlines will offer flights to Gothenburg, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf and Stockholm.
- Other possible destinations by B&H Airlines are: Prague, Vienna, Belgrade, Podgorica and Tripoli[5]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Adria Airways | Ljubljana |
| Austrian Airlines | Vienna |
| B&H Airlines | Belgrade, Berlin-Schönefeld [Begins March 2009], Copenhagen [Begins May 4, 2009], Düsseldorf [Begins May 2, 2009], Frankfurt, Gothenburg-Landvetter [Begins May 2, 2009], Istanbul-Atatürk, Podgorica [Begins March 2009], Prague [Begins March 2009], Stockholm-Arlanda [Begins May 1, 2009], Tripoli [Begins May 2009], Vienna [Begins March 2009], Zagreb [Begins March 2009], Zürich |
| Croatia Airlines | Zagreb |
| Germanwings | Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart |
| Jat Airways | Belgrade |
| Lufthansa operated by Lufthansa CityLine | Munich |
| Malév Hungarian Airlines | Budapest |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle | Oslo-Rygge [Starts June 26], Stockholm-Arlanda [Starts May 16] |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk |
Charter airlines
- B&H Airlines - Antalya, Bodrum, Tunis
Cargo airlines
Passenger statistics
| Year/Month | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 2006 | 26,743 | 24,292 | 30,484 | 37,380 | 44,290 | 49,987 | 56,504 | 54,811 | 45,394 | 38,690 | 28,166 | 29,287 | 466,186 |
New Sarajevo Airport?
Rumors about building a new international airport Sarajevo in Visoko, 20 km from Bosnian capital are recently updated. Malaysian government is willing to finance feasibility study and potential construction of the new airport. The plan envisaged the construction of other facilities such as railways between Sarajevo and Visoko, the loop connection with the highway to the airport and other underground facilities necessary for the normal functioning of any airport.[6]
References