Portorož Airport () is the smallest of three international airports in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It is located near the village of Sečovlje, south of

Portorož Portorož (; ) is a Slovenian Adriatic seaside resort and spa settlement located in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with the vogue for the first health resorts. In the earl ...

, and less than from the Croatian border. The airport was opened on 27 September 1962. In addition to Portorož, the airport serves a number of other tourist destinations in the region, including

Piran Piran (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. A bilingual city, with population speaking both Slovene and Italian, Piran is known for its medieva ...

Izola Izola (; ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Littoral traditional region. It is the seat of the Municipality of Izola and is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. Name Izola was attested in written s ...

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

in Slovenia,

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and

Umag Umag (; ; ) is a coastal town in Istria, Croatia. Its patron saint is Peregrine (martyr), St. Peregrine. Geography It is the westernmost town of Croatia, and it includes Bašanija, the westernmost point of Croatia. Demographics According to the ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The airport is intended for passenger and cargo transport, sport, tourist and business flights. It lies at two metres above sea level, the

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

measures .

History

As is the case in the development of many airports, Portorož Airport had a humble beginning. In 1962, ground preparations were initially made for the creation of a sports airport with a grass runway. However, in response to the LZJ decision to allow the third Adriatic Parachute Cup competitions to take place in Portorož the following year, the plans for the grass runway were ultimately changed and the runway was extended to . On 27 September 1962, a flight inspection team examined Portorož Airport and recommended the issuance of a six-month temporary registration, which would classify it as a secondary sports airport, permitting the landing of aircraft weighing up to . The following year, on 3 April 1963, Aero club

was formed. Later, in 1963, the third Adriatic Parachute Cup competitions were held. On 28 January 1971, the city of Piran decided to build an international sports airport at Portorož Airport. In July of the same year, the airport location was approved and the subsequent construction permits were issued for the construction and reconfiguration of the runway: 700 m long and 20 m wide (2,297 ft. long and 66 ft. wide). On 24 January 1972, the airfield construction and reconfiguration works were completed. The following year, 12 February 1973, the ZUCZP granted permission to register and license Portorož Airport for aviation sports purposes. Further development of the airport continued and, in January 1975, the Coast Flight Centre was established. Later, in 1975, construction work began on a runway refurbishment and extension project. The first building phase of the

airport terminal An airport terminal is a main building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. The buildings that provide access t ...

and platform was also initiated. The following year, on 21 August 1976, the airport re-entered full operations after construction works at the airport were completed. These included an enhancement to the runway, which was extended to and widened to - as well as the construction of an apron. Work was also completed on the first phase of the airport terminal and platform. On 1 October 1978, Portorož Airport was formally re-opened and entered into the register of airports and the register for panoramic flights. In 1979, a 400 m²

aircraft hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

was constructed and the first C-172 aircraft was purchased. Portorož Airport gained the status of a commercial passenger airport when, on 2 June 1980, the Federal Authority for Transport and Communications issued a permit that allowed the airport to be operated as a category "D" airport for civilian use in both domestic and international flights. Upgrades to the airport continued and, in the same year, a fueling station, which supplies Avgas 100LL, was built. On 1 May 1981, an Aero Commander 500 (Turbo Commander) aircraft carrying 9 passengers landed from

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

. Also in 1981, the airport facilities were further expanded and included the construction of a

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...

border crossing Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

, meteo and FIO. In 1983, the first Dash 7 landed at the airport. On 24 April 1984, the runway was lengthened to and widened to . The following year, on 20 July 1984, the airport was registered to handle Dash-7 aircraft. On 20 March 1986, construction work was completed on a technical aircraft hangar and airport fire station. In 1989, in order to facilitate night operations, runway lighting and an

approach lighting system An approach lighting system (ALS) is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end. ALS usually ...

in the vicinity of the airport were installed. As a consequence, on 21 March 1989, the Federal Secretary for Transport and Communication issued a permit, which allowed night operations. Also, the

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

classification 2C was established and the fire station received a category 4 designation. Furthermore, a permit was issued for take-offs and landings of aircraft with a maximum weight of 27 tonnes (54,900 lbs.). Investment in Portorož Airport continued and, on 15 April 1991, the Casino Touristic Company Turistično podjetje p.o. Portorož adopted a memorandum of understanding and formed a limited liability company: Aerodrom Portorož d.o.o. From 13 to 16 May 2004, aviation enthusiasts were welcomed at Portorož Airport, where the Aviatica general aviation air show took place. Later that year, on 1 July 2004, Aerodrom Portorož d.o.o. signed an agreement with its new partners: The Municipality of Piran; Aerodrom Ljubljana, d.d.; Istrabenz, holdinška družba, d.d.; and Luka Koper, d.d. ( Port of Koper). The recapitalisation plan was intended to facilitate further development of the airport in the near future. The entire airport is scheduled to undergo renovation in the near future. Moreover, there are plans for Portorož Airport's single runway to be lengthened to and widened to , in order to facilitate the handling of larger aircraft such as the Boeing 757-200.

Technical information

Although the airport

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

is currently declared CAT 2, it can be upgraded to CAT 4, provided a minimum of 12 hours advance notice is given - prior to commencement of the respective flight operations. Runway 33, which, as in the case of Runway 15, has a runway length of for

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...

purposes. However, unlike runway 15, runway 33 has a

displaced threshold A displaced threshold or DTHR is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway. The portion of the runway behind a displaced threshold may be used for takeoff in either direction and landings from t ...

, meaning that aircraft landing on this runway, i.e. at a heading of 330°, are required to touchdown (

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

) at a position approx. from the beginning of the runway, thereby reducing the runway landing distance to approx. .

Airport services

Although relatively small, a wide-variety of services are offered at Portorož Airport: modern airport facilities including technical and fuel service, services under contract (such as air taxi),

panoramic A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word ...

flights, business

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

, a

flight school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to aviator, pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted un ...

, parachute jumping, minibus transfer, a hotel room booking service, a restaurant, a

duty-free shop A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

as well as car rental services. The airport has the head office of

Solinair Solinair d.o.o. is a Slovenian airline based at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. It mainly operates charter cargo services for various logistics companies such as DHL and also offers aircraft maintenance. History The airline was established a ...

.Home page

. Retrieved on 19 February 2012. "Solinair d.o.o. Sečovlje, Sečovlje 19, 6333 Sečovlje, Letališče Portorož, Slovenija,"

History

Technical information

Airport services

References

External links