Užice-Ponikve Airport - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Užice-Ponikve Airport also known as Lepa Glava (Literally

Literal translation

Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...

: Beautiful Head) is an airport in the western part of Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. The airport is located at Ponikve (Literally

Literal translation

Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...

: Sinkholes) plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

: 11 km (7 mi) east from the Mount Tara, 12 km (7.5 mi) northwest from the city of Užice

Užice

Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...

, 13 km (8 mi) southeast from the town of Bajina Bašta

Bajina Bašta

Bajina Bašta is a town located in the western mountains of Serbia. The town lies in the valley of the Drina River at the eastern edge of Tara National Park...

, 16 km (10 mi) north from the town of Čajetina

Cajetina

Čajetina is a town and municipality in western Serbia, residing in the Zlatibor District. In 2011, the town has a total population of 3,342, while municipality has 14,762 inhabitants. Its coordinates are 43.75°N and 19.72°E...

, 17 km (10.5 mi) northwest from the town of Sevojno

Sevojno

Sevojno is a local community in western Serbia, situated in Užice city, in Zlatibor District. The population of the town is 7,445 people . Sevojno is also an industrial center of the region with the Aluminum and Copper Factory . The town is also home to the football club FK Sevojno....

, 19 km (12 mi) northeast from the popular tourist center with unique attractions of the Mokra Gora

Mokra Gora

Mokra Gora , meaning the Wet Mountain in English, is a village in Serbia on the northern slopes of mountain Zlatibor. Emphasis on historical reconstruction has made it into a popular tourist center with unique attractions....

, 20 km (12.5 mi) north from the Mount Zlatibor

Zlatibor

Zlatibor is a mountain region situated in the western part of Serbia, a part of the Dinaric Alps.The mountain range spreads over an area of 300 km², 27 miles in length, southeast to northwest, and up to 23 miles in width. The highest peak is Tornik at 1496 m...

, 20 km (12.5 mi) southwest from the town of Kosjerić

Kosjeric

Kosjerić is a town and municipality in Western Serbia. The municipality has 12,873 inhabitants, but the town itself has 3,970. The municipality's area is 359 square kilometers, with 26 villages mostly placed in the river valleys, though there are also some settlements in the mountains at altitudes...

, 27 km (17 mi) northwest from the town of Požega

Požega, Serbia

Požega is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of Serbia. In 2011, the population of the town is 12,957, while population of the municipality is 29,488.-Municipality:...

, 32 km (20 mi) southwest from the mountain resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

Divčibare

Divcibare

Divčibare is a mountain resort situated on the mountain Maljen in western Serbia, south-east of Valjevo, at the altitude of 980 metres above sea level...

, 35 km (22 mi) northeast from the town of Višegrad

Višegrad

Višegrad is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Republika Srpska entity. It is on the river Drina, located on the road from Goražde and Ustiprača towards Užice, Serbia.-History:...

in Republic of Srpska, 36 km (22.5 mi) northwest from the town of Arilje

Arilje

Arilje is a town and municipality in western Serbia, in the Zlatibor District. In 2011 the town has a total population of 6,762, while the municipality had 18,729. The town's coordinates are 43.75°N and 20.10°E...

, 39 km (24 mi) north from the town of Priboj

Priboj

Priboj is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of Serbia at 43.59° North, 19.54° East. In 2011, the town has a total population of 14,015, while population of the municipality is 27,127.- History :...

, 45 km (28 mi) southwest from the city of Valjevo

Valjevo

Valjevo is a city and municipality located in western Serbia. It is the center of the Kolubara District, which includes five other smaller municipalities with a total population of almost 180,000 people...

, 50 km (31 mi) northwest from the town of Nova Varoš

Nova Varoš

Nova Varoš is a town and municipality in Zlatibor District of Serbia. According to the 1991 census, the municipality of Nova Varoš had a population of 21,812, while according to the 2011 census, the number of inhabitants in the municipality was 16,758...

and 56 km (35 mi) northwest from the town of Prijepolje

Prijepolje

Prijepolje is a town and municipality in the Zlatibor District of Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the municipality of Prijepolje has a population of 36,713 people, while the town itself has a population of 13,068...

. The airport is being reconstructed at the moment in order to become a civil airport.

History

Užice-Ponikve Airport was built in the period from 1979 to 1983 but until 1992 it hasn’t been actively used.

After airport in 1995 turned into the public airport in 1996 and 1997 Jat Airways

Jat Airways

Jat Airways is the national airline of Serbia and the former national airline of Yugoslavia, and has its head office in the Jat Airways Business Center in Belgrade. It was established in 1927 as Aeroput, making it currently one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation...

, then known as Jat Yugoslav Airlines, served the airport twice a week for a domestic round line Užice

Užice

Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...

- Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

- Tivat

Tivat

Tivat is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor...

- Užice

Užice

Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...

, with an ATR 72

ATR 72

The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. ATR and Airbus are both built in Toulouse, and share resources and technology...

turboprop airliner. Part of the Motel "Kadinjača" close to the Kadinjača Memorial Complex about 4 km (2.5 mi) from airport, is temporarily adapted into terminal for receiving and outgoing of passengers. Passengers transported directly to plane by bus. Operations ceased in 1998 as they number of passengers reduced greatly.

Ponikve airport was heavily bombarded by NATO forces during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

Operation Allied Force

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

.
The airport now has a brighter future with construction/reconstruction, due to interest of local companies in cargo transport and great potential of this region in tourism.

In airport vicinity is some of the popular tourist attraction

Tourist attraction

A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....

s and ski centers (Zlatibor mountain

Zlatibor

, Tara mountain

Tara Mountain

Tara , is a mountain located in western Serbia. It is part of Dinaric Alps and stands at 1,000-1,500 metres above sea level. The mountain's slopes are clad in dense forests with numerous high-altitude clearings and meadows, steep cliffs, deep ravines carved by the nearby Drina River and many karst,...

), also the Šargan Eight

Šargan Eight

The Šargan Eight is a narrow-gauge heritage railway in Serbia, running from the village of Mokra Gora to Šargan Vitasi station. An extension to Višegrad in the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was finished on 28 August 2010....

- famous narrow gauge railway and Drvengrad (Literally

Literal translation

Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...

: Timber Town) at Mokra Gora

Mokra Gora

(Literally

Literal translation

Literal translation, or direct translation, is the rendering of text from one language to another "word-for-word" rather than conveying the sense of the original...

: Wet Mountain).

On September 27, 2006 it was announced that Ponikve Airport would be sold and converted for civilian use.

Heavy reconstruction

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is Serbia's busiest airport, also known as Surčin , after a nearby Belgrade district.Named after Nikola Tesla, the airport is situated west, of central Belgrade, in the Municipality of Surčin, surrounded by Syrmia's fertile lowlands...

is investing 3.5 million Serbian dinar

Serbian dinar

The dinar is the currency of Serbia. An earlier currency also called dinar was used in Serbia between 1868 and 1918. The earliest use of the dinar date to 1214. Today's Serbian dinar is a continuation of the last Yugoslav dinar...

s for the completion of the runway reconstruction at Ponikve Airport. As earlier agreed, they will provide financial and logistics support in order to create conditions for civil air operations from Užice

Užice

Užice is a city and municipality in western Serbia, located at the banks of the Đetinja river. It is the administrative center of the Zlatibor District...

, as soon as possible. The management of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport

also plans to make Ponikve its cargo base for the western Serbia region.

The runway at Ponikve is 3,200 meters [10,499 ft] in length after reconstruction. Originally it was to be 3,400 meters [11,155 ft]. The long runway allows Ponikve to accept large cargo aircraft. The low air pressure at this altitude makes a higher takeoff and landing speed necessary, and therefore a longer runway. It is among the longest runways in the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

, and the second longest in Serbia

Serbia

. The Government of Serbia

Government of Serbia

Officially the Government of the Republic of Serbia is the executive branch of government in Serbia.-Current government:The current government was elected on 7 July 2008 by the majority vote in the National Assembly of Serbia and restructured on 14 March 2011...

also supported reconstruction works with 2,5 million euros, reconstruction commenced on the 24th of July, 2006 by the "Putevi Užice" company, while the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

invested 124,000 euros.http://www.politika.rs/detaljno.php?nid=27200

The work on preparing the Ponikve Airport for civilian traffic will start in 2011.
It was also announced that in 2013 the whole work of preparing for civil flights at Ponikve while be completed.

Operable runway length

Currently operable runway length from its west threshold 29 is 2,442 m [8,012 ft] with width of 45 m [148 ft], which is enough for operations of 200 passengers aircraft class, like Boeing 757-200. After runway lengthening to 3,400 m [11,155 ft] the airport will be capable to handling Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

cargo aircraft class.

More 18.9 million euros is needed to complete the reconstruction of the airport. After this, the airport will have potential to handling large aircraft.

RAIRDev project

Užice-Ponikve Airport is involved in the "Regional Airports Interaction for Regional Development" project http://www.cadses.net/projects/apprpro.html?projectId=1572&topic=projects/apprpro, organized by CADSES INTERREG cooperation program. The aim of the project is strengthening of integrated and sustainable regional development based on the creation of a flexible air transport system provided by a cooperation network between regional airports. Beside Užice-Ponikve Airport, airports involved in the project are another 7 regional airports in Greece: Volos/Nea Anchialos-Central Greece International Airport

International Airport of Central Greece

Nea Anchialos National Airport is an airport located near the town of Nea Anchialos in Greece. It serves the city of Volos and is also known as Volos Central Greece Airport or Volos Nea Anchialos Airport of Central Greece....

, Hungary: Szombathely-Savaria International Airport *** ***, Slovakia: Žilina Airport

Žilina Airport

Žilina Airport is an airport serving Žilina, Slovakia. It is located near the village of Dolný Hričov, approximately 10 km west of Žilina itself. The airport is used for both international and domestic flights, as well for private flights, amateur sport flights, air ambulance flights and...

, Poland: Slupsk-Redzikowo Airport * **, Italy: Ancona-Raffaello Sanzio Falconara Airport

Ancona Airport

Ancona Airport or Ancona-Falconara Airport is an airport serving Ancona, a city in the Marche region of central Italy. The airport is located approximately west of Ancona, in Falconara Marittima...

, Germany: Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport

Baden Airpark

Baden Airpark , or officially Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, is an international airport located in Rheinmünster in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, south of Karlsruhe, west of Baden-Baden and north of Strasbourg, France....

and Ukraine: Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport.

Sources

European program for Regional Airports Interaction for Regional Developments. Informative video about the developments made through the RAIRDev program.... Na Moravi avion, Ponikve na čekanju (Radio 31, 06.10.2011) Radovi na užičkom aerodromu „Ponikve" nikako da počnu - Čišćenje zavisi od priliva novca (Press, 06.10.2011) Ponikve čekaju donatore (Politika, 15.09.2011) EU za Ponikve dala 550.000 evra (b92.net, 14.07.2011) Opština Višegrad podržava projekat revitalizacije aerodroma „Ponikve“ (VIP - Višegradski informativni portal, 08.07.2011) AERODROM PONIKVE ĆE PROBUDITI ZAPADNU SRBIJU (BETA, 10.05.2011) Ponikve bez mina do 2012. (Novosti, 10.05.2011) Četiri miliona evra za Ponikve (RTS, 09.05.2011) Donatorska konferencija za obnovu aerodroma Ponikve (Press, 09.05.2011) Amerikanci i Rusi obnavljaju Ponikve (Blic, 04.05.2011) UŽIČANI OSNOVALI PREDUZEĆE ZA AERODROM "PONIKVE" (Kurir, 02.03.2011) Volonteri oživljavaju aerodrom Ponikve (Politika, 16.02.2011) Užičani osnivaju preduzeće za upravljanje "Ponikvama" (BiznisNovine.com, 15.02.2011) Užice konačno vlasnik aerodroma „Ponikve" (Press, 24.12.2010) „Ponikve“ uskoro bez mina (Novosti, 23.12.2010) Užičani obnavljaju aerodrom Ponikve (Politika, 17.12.2010) Amerikanci i Rusi pomažu obnovu aerodroma Ponikve (Blic, 15.12.2010) PET AERODROMA PRELAZE U MEĐUNARODNE (Kurir, 22.09.2010) I na Ponikvama radovi počinju 2011. Ponikve: Prvo mine, pa onda avioni (b92.net, 05.08.2010) Šutanovac je kazao da je "jedan od važnih segmenata" aktivnosti Ministarstva odbrane konverzija vojnih aerodrome u Lađevcima, Batajnici, a možda i u Ponikvama i Kovinu. (b92.net, 02.08.2010) Ponikve civilna vazdušna luka (Blic, 07.03.2010) Italijanska avio kompanija Wind Jet kreće da leti za Bolonju 25. decembra, a Montenegro Airlines za Cirih nedelju dana ranije. I Ponikve postaju civilni aerodrom. (Mondo.rs, Niš, 24 November 2009) Užice dobilo low cost aerodrom? Serbia To Turn Ponikve Military Airport into Civil Airport (SeeNews, November 25, 2009) Future stop for Canadian and Chinese airliners - Užice-based Airport "Ponikve" as ideal reloading point (eKapija.com, November 16, 2009) Потписан Протокол о конверзији војног аеродрома Поникве у цивилне сврхе (Влада Републике Србије) Ponikve bi da rašire krila (Novosti, 26.11.2009) Ponikve - civilni aerodrom (Press, 25.11.2009) Užice dobija civilni aerodrom - Potpisan protokol o prevođenju vojnog aerodroma u vojno-civilni (Politika, 25.11.2009) Ponikve postaje civilni aerodrom (B-92, 25.11.2009 at YouTube.com) Ponikve civilni aerodrom - Potpisan Protokol o konverziji vojnog aerodroma Ponikve u civilne svrhe (RTS, 24.11.2009) Ozračeni avioni koče nove letove (Novosti, 24.11.2009) Užice ne odustaje od aerodroma "Ponikve" (www.ue.co.rs, 19.10.2009) Ponikve za civile (Novosti, 19.10.2009) Aerodrom Ponikve - Paraf izostao zbog ministra Aerodrom Ponikve ponovo na uzletištu (Politika, 24.09.2009) Zvanični predlog, Ponikve da budu civilni aerodrom (Kurir, 10.09.2009) Ponikve možda civilni aerodrom? Aerodrom Ponikve ponovo u žiži javnosti Ponikve će postati luka za civilne, ali i vojne avione "Zlatna koka" širi krila (Novosti, 28.02.2008) Posle bombi - turisti (Novosti, 26.07.2007) Evropa hoće aerodrom Ponikve Ponikve osposobljene za vojne letove - Uklonjeno 10 raketa "Avionom do Tare i Zlatibora" - Vojni aerodrom Ponikve od septembra se otvara za civilni saobraćaj (Kurir, 16.04.2006.) "Ponikve" spremne za avione (Novosti, 11.03.2006) Pista za maline i turiste (Danas, 28.02.2006) "Ponikve" ponovo niču
Control tower with Runway photo
Ponikve Runway photo
Ponikve Airport MiGs 21 Night Start movie
MiGs 21 at Ponikve apron

External links

AERODROM PONIKVE - PROŠLOST I SADAŠNJOST

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Heavy reconstruction

Operable runway length

RAIRDev project

See also

Sources

External links