Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport

Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport Аеродром „Александар Велики“ Скопје
IATA: SKP – ICAO: LWSK
Summary
Airport type		Public/Military
Owner		TAV Airports Holding
Serves		Skopje
Location		Petrovec, Republic of Macedonia
Hub for		Wizz Air
Elevation AMSL		238 m / 781 ft
Coordinates		41°57′40″N 021°37′37″E
Website		www.skp.airports.com.mk
Map
LWSK Location in Republic of Macedonia
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
16/34	2,950	9,678	Asphalt
Source: Republic of Macedonia AIP at EUROCONTROL

Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport (IATA: SKP, ICAO: LWSK) (Macedonian: Аеродром Скопје „Aлександар Вeлики“, Aerodrom Skopje "Aleksandar Veliki") is the larger and busier of the two international airports in the Republic of Macedonia. It is located 17 km (11 mi) southeast of the national capital Skopje in the Municipality of Petrovec.

Airport development

In 2008 the Macedonian Government signed a contract with the Turkish company Tepe Akfen Ventures (TAV) for a twenty-year long concession during which this company would manage Macedonia's two existing airports - the Skopje Alexander the Great Airport and the St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid. In September 2011, the new terminal building, extension of the runway, new administrative building, cargo building and new access road with parking facilities were opened. The goal of the project is to increase the capacity of Skopje Airport to four million passengers per year with plans to turn Skopje Airport into a major transit and cargo hub for Southeast Europe. Renovations of the Ohrid airport terminal building and VIP sections were completed in the Spring of 2011. The concession contract also includes the construction of a third airport intended for cargo transport near the eastern Macedonian town of Štip which eventually would be transformed into Macedonia’s main airport. The total amount of the foreseen investment is 200 million Euros with 30 to 40 million Euros total concession payments to the Macedonian Government over the 20-year concession period. Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding is one of the world's fastest expanding airport operators currently managing the Turkish airports of Atatürk, Esenboğa, Adnan Menderes and Gazipaşa along with Tbilisi and Batumi in Georgia, Monastir and Enfidha in Tunisia. TAV is also bidding to take over the management of Ruzyně International Airport and Riga International Airport. Also the construction of a luxurious hotel next to the airport is planned.

Name controversy

In December 2006 the government of the Republic of Macedonia announced plans to rename the airport after Alexander the Great, sparking a renewed diplomatic spat with Greece, where both countries consider Alexander the Great as part of their own heritage. The new name is argued to create confusion with the already existing Kavala International Airport named Alexander the Great (Greek: Μέγας Αλέξανδρος - Megas Alexandros), which lies in the neighbouring Greek region of Macedonia.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Adria Airways	Ljubljana
AlbaStar	Charter: Rome-Fiumicino, Basel/Mulhouse
Arkefly	Seasonal: Amsterdam
Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways	Vienna
Belair	Zürich
Belle Air Europe	Rome-Fiumicino
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb
flydubai	Dubai
Helvetic Airways	Zürich
Jat Airways	Belgrade Seasonal: Ohrid
Jetairfly	Seasonal: Brussels, Ohrid
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen
Sky Airlines	Charter: Antalya
Swiss International Air Lines operated by Edelweiss Air	Zürich
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk
Wizz Air	Basel/Mulhouse, Bergamo, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Gothenburg-City (begins 31 May 2013), London-Luton, Malmö, Memmingen, Stockholm-Skavsta , Treviso

Statistics

• 2012 Skopje Alexander the Great airport handeld a total of 828,831 passengers. An increase of 9.1%
• 2011 Skopje airport handeld a total of 759,928 passengers
• 2009 Traffic in Republic of Macedonia increased by 0.8% during the summer 2009 (May to October), when compared to summer 2008.
• 2008 the airport handled a total of 652,815 passengers, an increase by 4.1% from the previous year.

Ground transportation

Taxis Pre-ordered taxis to Skopje should cost not more than 1600 MKD.

Buses There is a new bus service linking the airport and the City (with stops at Hotel Continental, International Bus/Railway Station, Hotel Holiday Inn/City Centre and Hotel Alexander Palace). One-way ticket price: 150 MKD. Schedules: http://skp.airports.com.mk/default.aspx?ItemID=491

Incidents and accidents

• On 5 March 1993, Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301, a Fokker 100 bound for Zurich, crashed seconds after takeoff from runway 34. Investigation into the accident determined the cause of the accident to be the failure of the flight crew to have the aircraft deiced before departure. Of the 97 people on board, 83 died.
• On 13 (Friday) February 2009, Austrian Airlines Flight OS780, Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 scheduled flight from Skopje to Vienna failed to retract landing gear after take-off and performed an emergency landing on Skopje Airport.
• On 13 (Friday) February 2009, MALÉV Flight 440 a scheduled MALÉV flight Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 from Budapest to Skopje made an emergency landing at Skopje Airport. At 16:05 CET the pilot reported right engine failure on its final approach to Skopje LWSK. The pilot safely landed the airplane and there were no injuries reported among the 64 passengers in the aircraft. [6] [7]

External links

• Official website
• Accident history for SKP at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for LWSK at NOAA/NWS