Geçitkale Air Base or Lefkoniko Airport is a military airfield of the

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

near Lefkoniko () in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

. Construction was completed around 1990. During the renovation of the Ercan International Airport between September 2002 and May 2004, it served as Northern Cyprus' primary civilian airport. Geçitkale's unofficial ICAO code is LCGK. In the summer of 1998, amid rising tensions between Greece and Turkey, Turkey briefly stationed six

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

s at Geçitkale, in response to the former's positioning of four F-16s and two

Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

. Combat aircraft last visited the airport in November 2000.

Aerodrome characteristics

Geçitkale's only runway, 09/27, measures in length and wide. In addition, there is a long stopway on either end. The airport is equipped with a VOR/DME and an NDB station.

Base for unmanned aerial vehicles

Geçitkale Air Base was assigned by a decision of the government of

to the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command for use by

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

(UAV) operations. Firstly, three-truck load of ground control unit was installed at the air base. In the morning hours of 16 December 2019, a military UAV of type

Bayraktar TB2 Bayraktar TB2 (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Standard-bearer TB2'') is a Medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operati ...

landed at the air base coming from Turkey. The UAVs are intended to provide protection to the Turkish vessels operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for oil and gas exploration and deepwater drilling for petroleum and natural gas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gecitkale Air Base Airports in Cyprus Airports in Northern Cyprus Turkish Air Force bases