Podgorica Airport

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Podgorica Airport
Аеродром Подгорица
Aerodrom Podgorica

IATA: TGD – ICAO: LYPG
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Aerodromi Crne Gore - Airports of Montenegro
Serves Podgorica, Montenegro
Location Golubovci, Montenegro
Elevation AMSL 141 ft / 43 m
Coordinates 42°21′34″N 19°15′07″E / 42.35944, 19.25194
Website www.montenegroairports.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 8,202 2,500 Asphalt

Podgorica Airport (Montenegrin/Serbian: Аеродром Подгорица/Aerodrom Podgorica) (IATA: TGD, ICAO: LYPG) is an international airport located 11 km (7 miles) south of Podgorica, Montenegro. It is the main hub for Montenegro Airlines.

It is one of two public airports in Montenegro, the other being Tivat Airport. Both are operated by the state-owned company Airports of Montenegro (Аеродроми Црне Горе, Aerodromi Crne Gore). The airport is sometimes called Golubovci Airport by the locals, as the town of Golubovci is in close proximity. Podgorica Airport served over 400,000 passengers in 2006. Airports Council International awarded Podgorica The best airport under 1 million passengers in 2007 [1].

The IATA code of the airport is still TGD because Podgorica was named Titograd (after Josip Broz Tito) from 1946 to 1992. It has ICAO classification 4E ILS Cat 1.

Contents

[edit] Main terminal

As air traffic in Montenegro saw rapid increase in recent years, the now called "old" passenger terminal, a small, single-storey building, with one international and one domestic departure gate, has become inadequate. This led to the construction of an entirely new terminal.

The new passenger terminal (5,500 m2) opened on May 14, 2006. It has 8 departure and 2 arrival gates, and is able to handle up to 1 million passengers annually. Besides construction of the new terminal, a refurbishment and extension of the apron and improvements to the taxiways system, airfield lighting system and power supply were also conducted. There are 6 aprons instead of previous 3, and further extension of up to 8 aprons is possible.

The terminal building is all aluminium and glass structure, featuring advanced architectural solutions such as indirect lighting throughout the building. Since its opening, the it features two cafes, two newspaper stalls, a duty free shop, rent-a-car posts, and major Montenegrin bank outlets. Although the airport is considered a low-risk one, security screening has been visibly increased since the introduction of the new terminal. Security measures and monitoring that are standard for European airports are applied on the terminal.

Although a completely new building, it does not feature jetways, as passenger flow at the airport does not impose the need for ones.

The old terminal building is now houses medical staff, airlines offices, a VIP lounge and a press conference hall. The central part of old terminal will be used as a museum-exhibition center which will show the long history of aviation in Montenegro.

[edit] Military usage

Podgorica Airport is a public airport, but shares the main runway with nearby Podgorica Military Air Base.

Part of the military complex was also 08/26 runway, which was not used by civilian planes, as it is barely marked and only 15m wide. It is connected to the main 18/36 runway by 3 km long taxiway, and is located adjecent to Šipčanik Hill, near the town of Tuzi. The hill doubled as an underground aircraft shelter, and was seriosely damaged during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign. It was recently converted into a wine cave by the Plantaže company. The 08/26 runway is currently unused, and is unclear what will be it's future use.

With Montenegro's independence on June 3, 2006, the newly formed Military of Montenegro announced that it will not maintain a combat air force. Currently, 9 G-4 Super Galebs have Podgorica Airbase as their home base, and it is not known whether any of the planes will be retained.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

The airport handles domestic flights within Montenegro as well as international flights. As Montenegro's two main airports are merely 80 km apart, there are no regular passenger domestic flights. Domestic flights have been reduced to charter flights and general aviation, and all regular traffic is treated as international.

There are daily scheduled flights to Belgrade, Serbia, and various other European and world destinations. During the summer season, there are many charter flights and air connections to various major cities in the world.

Note: Serbian VIP airlines Air Pink and Prince Aviation use the airport.

[edit] Accessibility

Podgorica Airport is accessible by Podgorica - Bar road (E65/E80), via short detour. Drive from Podgorica to the airport usually does not take more than 15 minutes. Exception are summer months, when tourists heading for Adriatic coast jam the road leading to airport.

There are plans to widen the road from Podgorica to airport to four lanes, with median, as it currently boasts only two lanes. With the construction of Sozina tunnel, the airport is some 40 km away from Bar, Montenegro's main port, and so airport increasingly caters to needs of cities on southern part of Montenegin coast.

Transportation to and from airport is covered by buses, but the favourite means of transport of passengers are cheap and reliable taxis.

[edit] Accidents

  • On 25 January 2005, Montenegro Airlines Fokker 100 (YU-AOM) nosegear collapsed after runway excursion during a night landing in snowy conditions. The nosegear collapsed and the airplane skidded for about 700 meters before coming to rest, 1180 meters after touchdown. Two passengers, the pilot and copilot were lightly injured. The airline was sued by passengers, as it was the only airline to operate flights to Podgorica that evening (other airlines canceled flights due to insufficient ice clearance technology at the airport.

[edit] Sources


[edit] External links

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Airports and airfields in Montenegro
International
Podgorica International · Tivat International
Domestic
Military