Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport
Encyclopedia
Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport or Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport ( or Aéroport Guadeloupe Pôle Caraïbes "Caribbean Hub") is an airport
serving Pointe-à-Pitre
on the island of Grande-Terre
in Guadeloupe
. The airport is located in Abymes, 2.4 km (2,400,000,000,000 nm) north-northeast of Pointe-à-Pitre. It is the main hub for Air Caraïbes
and Air Antilles Express
. It is the largest of the six airports in the archipelago. In 2008, the airport handled between 2 and 2.5 million passengers, it is the second busiest airport in the Lesser Antilles
after Grantley Adams International Airport
.
of 35 ft (11 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway
designated 12/30 which measures 3125 metre.
Runway 12/30 is long enough allowing aircraft as large as the A380
to take off and land without difficulty. The airport was also one of the first to handle the first A380 prototype in the 2nd week of January 2006, for 2 days. The same year, the airport celebrated its 40th anniversary.
At one time, Air Guadeloupe
had its head office on the airport property.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
serving Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre is the largest city of Guadeloupe, an overseas région and département of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a sous-préfecture, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre....
on the island of Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre
Grande-Terre is an island in the Guadeloupe, separated by Basse-Terre Island by a salt river. Grande-Terre's northernmost point, Pointe de la Grande Vigie, is also the northernmost point in Guadeloupe....
in Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
. The airport is located in Abymes, 2.4 km (2,400,000,000,000 nm) north-northeast of Pointe-à-Pitre. It is the main hub for Air Caraïbes
Air Caraïbes
Air Caraïbes is the regional airline of the French Caribbean which comprises two overseas departments of France: Guadeloupe and Martinique. The airline is headquartered in Les Abymes in Guadeloupe. It operates scheduled and charter services serving 13 islands in the West Indies...
and Air Antilles Express
Air Antilles Express
Air Antilles Express is an airline based in Guadeloupe, an important economic link for the French Antilles and a way out of Port au Prince. It is a regional airline operating scheduled and seasonal services.- History :...
. It is the largest of the six airports in the archipelago. In 2008, the airport handled between 2 and 2.5 million passengers, it is the second busiest airport in the Lesser Antilles
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Western Hemisphere. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America...
after Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport
Grantley Adams International Airport , is found in Seawell, Christ Church on the island of Barbados. The former name of the airport was Seawell Airport before being dedicated in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976. The airport's timezone is GMT –4, and is...
.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevationElevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
of 35 ft (11 m) above mean sea level. It has one paved runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
designated 12/30 which measures 3125 metre.
Runway 12/30 is long enough allowing aircraft as large as the A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
to take off and land without difficulty. The airport was also one of the first to handle the first A380 prototype in the 2nd week of January 2006, for 2 days. The same year, the airport celebrated its 40th anniversary.
At one time, Air Guadeloupe
Air Guadeloupe
Air Guadeloupe was a small international airline with its head office in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. At one period it was on the property of Le Raizet Airport. Later it was located in the Immeuble Le Caducet.-Company history:...
had its head office on the airport property.