Ambri Airport, french: Aéroport de Ambri, it, Aeroporto di Ambrì ( :ICAO: LSPM) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

. It located near the village of

Ambrì Ambrì is a Swiss village in the municipality of Quinto, Leventina District, Canton of Ticino. Geography Ambrì is located in the Leventina Valley, upon the southwestern shore of Ticino river and below the Lepontine Alps, next to the neighbori ...

, in the municipality of Quinto,

canton of Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. Ambri serves the surrounding area and is home to a gliding school, a helicopter base and has sufficiency for VFR flying. The airport is situated in the steep-sided alpine valley of the

Ticino river The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows. It is one of the four ...

. It is flanked to the north by the A2 motorway and the river, and to the south by the

Gotthard railway The Gotthard railway (german: Gotthardbahn; it, Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between no ...

and the villages of Ambri and Piotta.

History

Ambri Airport began as a :Swiss Air Force base, built during World War II. It was home to the Fighter Squadron 8, whose fleet included the :EKW C-35, :Messerschmitt Bf 109, :de Havilland Vampire, :de Havilland Venom and the :Hawker Hunter. The mountains surrounding the airport housed bunkers of which were home to tactical buildings, fighter aircraft and troops. The bunkers were accessed by

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

s that passed under the A2 motorway, and over the Ticino river. In 1994 the Swiss Air Force base was deactivated, and the airfield converted into a civilian airport. The

Aircraft cavern Aircraft cavern, a calque of the German word ''Flugzeugkaverne'', is an underground hangar amongst others used by the Swiss Air Force. Historical During World War II, the neutral Swiss military airfields were for the first time equipped with si ...

that formerly accommodated the base still exists but are now empty.

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External links

*
Official Website

DH-112 Venom Take-off & landing at Ambri {{authority control Airports in Ticino

History

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