- Sarajevo International Airport
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Sarajevo International Airport
Međunarodni Aerodrom Sarajevo
Међународни Аеродром Сарајево
IATA: SJJ – ICAO: LQSA Location of the airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SJJSummary Airport type Public Operator Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation (BHDCA) Serves Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Location Butmir, Bosnia and Herzegovina Hub for B&H Airlines Elevation AMSL 1,708 ft / 521 m Coordinates 43°49′29″N 18°19′53″E / 43.82472°N 18.33139°ECoordinates: 43°49′29″N 18°19′53″E / 43.82472°N 18.33139°E Website Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 12/30 2,600 8,530 Asphalt Statistics Passengers 2010 563,266 Passengers 2009 530,391 Passengers 2008 505,269 Passeengers 2007 506,398 Source (excluding statistics): Bosnian and Herzegovinian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1] Sarajevo International Airport (IATA: SJJ, ICAO: LQSA), also known as Butmir Airport, is the main international airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located 3.3 NM (6.1 km; 3.8 mi) southwest of the railway station[1] in 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, Germanwings and others. In 2006, 466,186 passengers traveled through Sarajevo airport, compared to only 25,000 in 1996.[2]
In 2010 Sarajevo International Airport had 563,266 passengers which is more than all of the airports in Bosnia-Herzegovina had together and 6,2% more than in 2009. The growth rate in 2011 is expected to be above 10%. [3]
In 2005 the European branch of the Airports Council International awarded Sarajevo the award of Best Airport Under 1 Million Passengers.[4]
Contents
History
First regular flights from Sarajevo to Belgrade and Zagreb started in 1935 from an airfield in the suburb of Butmir, near Sarajevo. The airfield remained in use all the way until 1969. The need for a new airport in Sarajevo, with an asphalt-concrete runway, was acknowledged in the mid 1960s when JAT, Yugoslav national carrier at that time, began acquiring jet planes. The construction of the airport began in 1966 at its present location, not far from the old one.
The Sarajevo Airport opened on June 2, 1969 for domestic traffic. In 1970 Frankfurt became the first international destination served. Most of the time the airport was a 'feeder' airport where passengers embarked for flights to Zagreb and Belgrade on their way to international destinations. Over time the traffic volume steadily grew from 70,000 to 400,000 passengers a year. The first renovation came for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, when the runway was extended by 200 meters, the navigation system was improved, and a new terminal building was built, designed for 1 million passengers a year.
At the beginning of the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the airport was put under control of Yugoslav federal army (JNA). When the regular flights were stopped the JNA evacuated some 30,000 people, mostly women and children, who were fleeing clashes in Sarajevo; the first humanitarian aid from the US and France arrived in this period too.[5] After JNA left, the airport was for a while under control of Bosnian Serb forces and in June 1992 they handed over the airport to the UN to use it for humanitarian purposes (UN Security Council Resolution 757). In the biggest humanitarian operation in history of the UN that followed, during the Bosnian war, some 13,000 flights were carried out and over 160,000 tons of international humanitarian aid was delivered to the besieged city of Sarajevo.[5]
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 Izetbegović, 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.[6]
Airport expansion
Extension of the passenger terminal, together with upgrading and expanding the taxiway and apron is planned in the near future.
Sarajevo airport apron
Sarajevo airport
Sarajevo airport inside
Sarajevo airport insideAirlines and destinations
Scheduled airlines
The following airlines operate scheduled flights at Sarajevo International Airport (as of November 2011)
Airlines Destinations Adria Airways Ljubljana Austrian Airlines Vienna Austrian Airlines
operated by Tyrolean AirwaysVienna B&H Airlines Amsterdam [resumes 15 December], Copenhagen [resumes 1 December], Istanbul-Atatürk, Zürich Croatia Airlines Zagreb Germanwings Cologne/Bonn
Seasonal: StuttgartJat Airways Belgrade Lufthansa Seasonal: Munich Lufthansa Regional
operated by Lufthansa CityLineMunich Malév Hungarian Airlines Budapest Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Atatürk Charter airlines
Airlines Destinations B&H Airlines Seasonal Pescara, Grottaglie Corendon Airlines Seasonal: Antalya Middle East Airlines Seasonal: Beirut Sevenair Seasonal: Tunis Tailwind Airlines Seasonal: Antalya Cargo airlines
The following airlines operate cargo flights at Sarajevo International Airport (as of February 2011)
Airlines Destinations Icar Air Ancona Solinair Belgrade Passenger statistics
Year/Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Year total 2011 30,484 34,148 40,803 49,489 56,812 62,994 81,042 59,042 59,074 52,975 - - 526,863 2010 + + + + 51,398 59,636 72,615 60,475 54,753 51,137 40,912 - 563,266 2009 + + 87,257 + + 143,906 + + 177,762 + + 121,427 530,391 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 Accessibility
By bus
Service Destination (departing from the airport) Operators 200E[7] Avaz - Nedžarići - Alipašino Polje - RTV Dom - Otoka - D. Malta - Pofalići - Z. Muzej - Baščaršija JKP GRAS and Centrotrans-Eurolines References
- ^ a b EAD Basic
- ^ Statistic data for Sarajevo Airport
- ^ [1]
- ^ Excellence in airport operations: 1st ACI Europe Best Airport Awards, 29 June 2005.
- ^ a b [2]
- ^ High Representative Suspends Decision Renaming Sarajevo International Airport
- ^ [http://www.gras.ba/bs/attachments/article/177/Lin%20200e%20BA%C5%A0%C4%8CAR%C5%A0IJA%20(Bezistan)%20-%20AERODROM%20SARAJEVO.pdf GRAS 200E
External links
- Official website
- Official website (Bosnian)
- Current weather for LQSA at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for SJJ at Aviation Safety Network
Airports in Bosnia and HerzegovinaInternational Banja Luka International Airport • Mostar International Airport • Sarajevo International Airport • Tuzla International Airport 
Domestic Banja Luka Zalužani • Bihać Golubić • Bijeljina • Ćoralići • Doboj • Glamoč • Kupres Bajramovići • Livo • Modriča • Mostar Jasenica • Novi Travnik • Prijedor • Sarajevo Butmir • Tomislavgrad • Trebinje • Tuzla Jegen Lug • Visoko Sport Military Categories:- Airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Airports established in 1969
- Transport in Sarajevo
- Grad Sarajevo
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