Vršac Airport ( sr, Аеродром Вршац / ''Aerodrom Vršac'') is a small

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 ...

and training facility owned and operated by the SMATSA Aviation Academy. The airport is located in

Vršac Vršac ( sr-cyr, Вршац, ; hu, Versec; ro, Vârșeț) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the city urban area had a pop ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. There are five hangars built at the airport which accommodate aircraft of the flight school and of the agricultural aviation division. An office building with classrooms and a control tower are adjacent to hangars and the concrete aircraft apron. Runway width is 25 m (82 ft).

History

The first flight on the slopes of Vršački breg was performed by the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

pilot-engineer

Aurel Vlaicu Aurel Vlaicu (; 19 November 1882 – 13 September 1913) was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot.Gheorghiu, 1960 Early years and education Aurel Vlaicu was born in the village of Binținți in Transylvania, Aust ...

on 11 August 1912. The starting year of aeronautical tradition was 1925, when aeronautical club "Naša krila" (English: "Our Wings") was founded. A study was made about the advantages of this region for development of gliding sport, and this had initiated the investors to build the first hangar in 1934. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the intensive training of glider pilots continued. In 1954, Vršac becomes official State Aeronautical Centre. Glider pilots were now joined by parachutists, airplane pilots and aircraft-model makers. Vršac was the recruitment centre for recreational aeronautics until 1972. Fliers from this center took place in many world championships and brought many medals and records. In 1972, Vršac hosted the 13th World Gliding Championships (WGC). In 1972, the national airline of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, JAT Yugoslav Airlines, now known as

Air Serbia Air Serbia (stylised as ''AirSERBIA''; sr, / ) is the flag carrier of Serbia. The company's headquarters is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and its main hub is Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline was known as Jat Airways until it was r ...

, started training future airline pilots at the academy they opened at Vršac Airport. The Jat Airways Flight Academy each year organizes the "Vršac Airshow". The first international flight from Vršac Airport was to

Podgorica Airport Podgorica Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Подгорица, Aerodrom Podgorica, ) is an international airport serving the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica and the surrounding region. It is one of two international airports in Montenegro, the ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

on February 5, 2007. The airport received international airport status in 2006.

Airport services

SMATSA Aviation Academy

Vršac Airport is home to the SMATSA Aviation Academy, formerly known as the Jat Airways Flight Academy. In October 2005, the Maintenance Department of the SMATSA Aviation Academy received certification of conforming to

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

( JAA) standards in the maintenance of light aircraft - EASA part 145. This certification opens the possibility of maintaining aircraft for clients throughout Europe. Vršac Airport has trained many pilots from different airports over the years. In 2007, the airport will be the training base for future pilots from India and China. Vršac Airport has also trained pilots from

Air Algérie Air Algérie SpA ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الجزائرية, ; ber, Aeriverdan idzayriyen) is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airpo ...

, Air Mali,

Air Malta Air Malta plc (stylized as airmalta) is the flag carrier airline of Malta, with its headquarters in Luqa and its hub at Malta International Airport. It operates services to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. History ...

Iraqi Airways Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية العراقية ''al-Xuṭūṭ al-Jawwiyyah al-ʿIrāqiyyah, Kurdish: ھێڵی ئاسمانی عێراق''), is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on ...

Libyan Arab Airlines Libyan Airlines ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الليبية; transliterated: al-Khutut al-Jawiyah al-Libiyah), formerly known as ''Libyan Arab Airlines'' over several decades, is the flag carrier of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates sch ...

TAAG Angola Airlines TAAG Angola Airlines E.P. ( pt, TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola E.P.) is a state-owned airline and flag carrier of Angola. Based in Luanda, the airline operates domestic services within Angola, medium-haul services in Africa and long-haul service ...

and

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...

Maintenance Centre

Light Aircraft Maintenance Centre in Vršac at SMATSA Aviation Academy holds an EASA 145 Certificate, as required for maintaining and repairing smaller planes from the

. Aircraft from the fleet of the Greek business air carrier GAA - whose pilots have recently renewed their flying licenses in the institution - are also maintained in Vršac.

References

External links

Opština VršacVršac airport information (PDF)Međunarodni aerodrom biće i u Vršcu
(b92.net, 05.10.2011)
I veliki avioni sletaće na aerodrom u Vršcu
(eVrsac.rs, 18.02.2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vrsac International Airport Airports in Serbia Buildings and structures in Vojvodina Banat Vršac