Batticaloa Airport
| Batticaloa Airport SLAF Batticaloa மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம் මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: BTC – ICAO: VCCB | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
| Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka[1] | ||||||||||
| Serves | Batticaloa | ||||||||||
| Location | Thimilathiu, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1958 | ||||||||||
| Commander | G. S. N. Priyadarshana | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 10 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 07°42′19″N 081°40′40″E / 7.70528°N 81.67778°ECoordinates: 07°42′19″N 081°40′40″E / 7.70528°N 81.67778°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  BTC Location of airport in Sri Lanka | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Batticaloa Airport (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம், Sinhalese: මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ, IATA: BTC[2], ICAO: VCCB) is a domestic airport on the island of Thimilathiu in eastern Sri Lanka.[3] It is also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa or SLAF Batticaloa.[4]
The facility is located 0.94 nautical miles (1.7 km) southwest of the town of Batticaloa.[3] It resides at an elevation of 3 metres (10 ft) and has one runway designated 06/24 with a bitumen surface measuring 1,066 by 46 metres (3,497 ft × 151 ft).[3]
History
Batticaloa Airport was originally opened in November 1958 but was later closed down.[5][6] On 27 March 1983 an air force base was opened on the site.[7] In 1985 around 3,000 people forcibly evicted from their homes in order to extend the base.[8] Construction of a domestic airport at the base began in September 2012.[9][10]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FitsAir | Charter:Colombo-Ratmalana |
| Helitours | Colombo-Ratmalana |
| SriLankan Airlines operated by Cinnamon Air | Colombo-Bandaranaike, Sigiriya |
References
- ↑ "The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka - EXTRAORDINARY" (PDF). documents.gov.lk. 1 July 2016.
- ↑ "Airline and Airport Code Search (BTC: Batticaloa)". International Air Transport Association (IATA). Retrieved 2016-01-26.
- 1 2 3 "VCCB – Batticaloa". AIP Sri Lanka. Aeronautical Information Services of the Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-01-24.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa". AirForce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26.
- ↑ Casinader, Prince (20 May 2013). "Batticaloa welcomes re-opening of its airport". Ceylon Today.
- ↑ "Appeals to re-open Batticaloa Airport". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 10 June 2011.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa". Sri Lanka Air Force. Archived from the original on 11 August 2007.
- ↑ de Silva, Shelani (27 July 1997). "12 year agony for airport victims". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
- ↑ "President kicks off construction of domestic airport at Batti". Daily FT. 4 September 2012.
- ↑ "Foundation stone laid to build terminal building". Ceylon Today. 5 September 2012.