Banja Luka International Airport

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Banja Luka International Airport
IATA: BNX - ICAO: LQBK
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Airports of Republic of Srpska a.d.
Serves Banja Luka
Elevation AMSL 400 ft (122 m)
Coordinates 44°56′29″N, 17°17′51″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 8,202 2,500 Paved

Banja Luka International Airport (IATA: BNX, ICAO: LQBK) (Cyrillic: Међународни аеродром Бања Лука, Latin: Medjunarodni aerodrom Banja Luka), also known as Mahovljani Airport, after the nearby village of the same name, is an airport located 23km (14.3 miles) from the city of Banja Luka, the capital of the Republika Srpska and the second biggest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Contents

[edit] History

The building of Banja Luka International Airport began in 1976. In accordance with existing development plans, capacities were built which defined Banja Luka Airport as an airport of secondary importance, restricted to domestic air traffic on the territory of Yugoslavia.

After the political and territory transformation of Yugoslavia, Republic of Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estrablished with Banja Luka as the facto capital city. That gave Banja Luka Airport new importance and a completely different role. Banja Luka International Airport was opened for civilian air traffic 18th November 1997. Since 2 March 1998, when JAT Yugoslav Airlines (now Jat Airways) promoted the first flight to Belgrade, it has served only for international passenger transportation.

From 1999 to 2003, the airport served as the main hub of Air Srpska, which was the official flag carrier of the Republic of Srpska. The company was founded by Jat Airways and government of the Republic of Srpska. Unfortunatley, the company ceased all operations in 2003 after Jat decided to withdraw from the airline.

The airport was built in the area of Laktaši and Gradiška municipalities, in a wide valley of the Vrbas River expanding into the well-known Lijevče polje. It is connected to the main Banja Luka – Gradiška road and will also be connected to the new Banja Luka – Gradiška highway, which is due to be completed in a few years.

[edit] Flights

Over the years, the airport has had flights connecting Banja Luka to Belgrade, Zürich, Vienna and Tivat.

The airport is served by B&H Airlines and has flights to Zürich (Zürich International Airport).

In the summer, the city is connected by a charter flight to Antalya (Antalya International Airport) in Turkey.

There have recently been reports that Europe's largest low-cost airline Ryanair is to start services to Frankfurt in March 2007. Other airlines such as easyJet and Wizz Air have also expressed their interest in using the airport's services.

There have been negotiations with Austrian Airlines, about opening a new route to Vienna, a popular destinations for students from Bosnia.

Ongoing negotiations are on the way with Jat Airways about reestablishing flights to Belgrade and Montenegro Airlines about opening a summer flight between Banja Luka and Tivat.

[edit] The Airport Authority

Airport operator: Airports of the Republika Srpska a.d.

Address: Kralja Petra I Karadjordjevića 111, 78000 Banja Luka, RS, BiH

Telephone numbers: +387 51 305 897, +387 51 535 210

Fax numbers: + 387 51 305 913, +387 51 535 247

Email: info@banjaluka-airport.com

Website: http://www.banjaluka-airport.com/

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Currently, the national airline of Bosnia & Herzegovina, B&H Airlines is the only carrier to be flying scheduled flights out of Banja Luka Airport since Serbian carrier, Jat Airways withdrew their Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport - Banja Luka flights in mid 2005. Hopefully in the future Banja Luka Airport will receive more airlines and more destinations. Currently, as at November 2006, the airlines and destinations to Banja Luka Airport are:


[edit] External links

Airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Banja Luka International Airport | Mostar International Airport | Sarajevo International Airport | Tuzla International Airport
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