Amílcar Cabral International Airport: Difference between revisions
Space Shuttles are in the past tense |
|||
| Line 58: | Line 58: | ||
It is located {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} west-southwest from [[Espargos]] on [[Sal, Cape Verde|Sal Island]]. Until September 2005, it was the only airport in Cape Verde to serve international flights. (Cape Verde's other international airports are near [[Praia, Cape Verde|Praia]] on [[Santiago, Cape Verde|Santiago Island]], on [[Sao Vicente, Cape Verde|São Vicente]] near the capital of [[Mindelo, Cape Verde|Mindelo]] and on [[Boa Vista, Cape Verde|Boavista]].) |
It is located {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=on}} west-southwest from [[Espargos]] on [[Sal, Cape Verde|Sal Island]]. Until September 2005, it was the only airport in Cape Verde to serve international flights. (Cape Verde's other international airports are near [[Praia, Cape Verde|Praia]] on [[Santiago, Cape Verde|Santiago Island]], on [[Sao Vicente, Cape Verde|São Vicente]] near the capital of [[Mindelo, Cape Verde|Mindelo]] and on [[Boa Vista, Cape Verde|Boavista]].) |
||
The airport's main runway (01/19) is 3,272m (10,734 ft) and is the longest in Cape Verde. It is used for long-haul flights. It |
The airport's main runway (01/19) is 3,272m (10,734 ft) and is the longest in Cape Verde. It is used for long-haul flights. It was also one of the designated emergency landing strips for the U.S. [[Space Shuttle]].<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/facility/sts-els.htm Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites<!--Bot generated title-->]</ref> The second runway (07/25) is 1,500m (4,921 ft) and is used by small planes. Sal was the main hub for the national airline, [[TACV|TACV Cabo Verde Airlines]], now Sal is the base of privates [[Cabo Verde Express]], and |
||
[[Halcyonair]]. |
[[Halcyonair]]. |
||
Revision as of 14:35, 13 June 2012
Amílcar Cabral International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Aeroportos Seguranca Aera (ASA) | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Espargos | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 54 m / 177 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www.asa.cv... | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  SID Location in Cape Verde | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Sources: World Aero Data[1] | |||||||||||||||
Amílcar Cabral International Airport (IATA: SID, ICAO: GVAC), also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral.
It is located 2 km (1.2 mi) west-southwest from Espargos on Sal Island. Until September 2005, it was the only airport in Cape Verde to serve international flights. (Cape Verde's other international airports are near Praia on Santiago Island, on São Vicente near the capital of Mindelo and on Boavista.)
The airport's main runway (01/19) is 3,272m (10,734 ft) and is the longest in Cape Verde. It is used for long-haul flights. It was also one of the designated emergency landing strips for the U.S. Space Shuttle.[2] The second runway (07/25) is 1,500m (4,921 ft) and is used by small planes. Sal was the main hub for the national airline, TACV Cabo Verde Airlines, now Sal is the base of privates Cabo Verde Express, and Halcyonair.
In 2004, the airport served 1,007,561 passengers (+21.4% vs. 2003).
History
The first airport on Sal Island was built in 1939 by Italy, as a fuel and provisions stopping-point on routes from Rome to South America. The first flight, an arrival from Rome and Seville, was on December 15, 1939. In 1947, the Portuguese colonial government purchased the airport from Italian interests. In 1950, DC-4 service on Alitalia began on a Rome —- Sal —- Buenos Aires —- Caracas route. In 1961 jet service (a DC-8) on the route rendered the stop at Sal unnecessary, and international service was suspended.
Between 1960 and 1967 Sal was a stop of the Voo da amizade (English: Friendship Flight), a dedicated service between Brazil and Portugal. It was operated from 1960 to 1965 by Panair do Brasil and from 1965 to 1967 by TAP-Transportes Aéreos Portugueses and Varig. Only Brazilian and Portuguese citizens or foreigners with permanent residence in Brazil or Portugal could purchase tickets for those flights, which were extremely popular due to their low fares. At this time, Cape Verde was a Portuguese Overseas Province and therefore part of the territory of Portugal.
In 1967, Sal was used again as a refueling stop, this time by South African Airways, for flights to and from Europe, since SAA was denied landing rights by most African countries due to the international boycott of apartheid. Later, Cubana and Aeroflot used Sal for refueling and passenger flights.
In 1985, TACV began service to Boston, Massachusetts, using a LAM DC10. Boston hosts the largest Cape Verdean community in the United States. TACV flights to Boston have since been shifted to Praia International Airport. Other international destinations include Amsterdam, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Madrid, Paris, and Porto. Domestic destinations include Santiago and São Vicente.
Facilities and transport
Amílcar Cabral has one terminal. It is a two-story building containing check-in, waiting, and arrival areas, as well as shopping, banking, and passenger services. The second floor houses airport operations and airline offices. There are four gates, and buses are used to transport passengers to the aircraft stands.
The airport is located on the east side connecting with the road linking Espargos and Santa Maria, the island's main tourist destination. There is presently no scheduled public transport, but taxis, shared cars known as "aluguer", and rental cars are available.
The head office of Halcyonair is located in the first floor of the Concourse Hall.[3] In addition Cabo Verde Express has its head office in the Concourse Hall.[4]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Mediterranee | Paris, Toulouse |
| Arkefly | Amsterdam, Fortaleza, Natal, Boa Vista |
| Cabo Verde Express | Boa Vista, Fogo, Maio, Praia, São Nicolau, São Vicente |
| Condor | Frankfurt [begins 2 November] |
| Europe Airpost | Brussels, Paris-Orly |
| Halcyonair | Boa Vista, Fogo, Maio, Praia, São Nicolau, São Vicente |
| Hifly | London-Gatwick, Mount Pleasant |
| Jetairfly | Boa Vista, Brussels |
| Livingston Compagnia Aerea | Milan-Malpensa |
| Luxair | Luxembourg, Boa Vista |
| Mistral Air | Milan-Bergamo |
| Neos | Bergamo, Bologna, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino, Verona Seasonal: Brescia Montichiari |
| SATA International | Lisbon Seasonal: Porto |
| TACV | Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bissau, Boa Vista, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Praia, São Filipe, São Nicolau, São Vicente Seasonal: Bilbao [begins 10 July], Milan-Bergamo [begins 23 June], Porto, Rome-Fiumicino |
| TAP Portugal | Lisbon |
| Thomas Cook Airlines | Manchester [begins winter 2012] |
| Thomson Airways | Birmingham, London-Gatwick, Manchester |
| Transavia | Boa Vista, Paris-Orly |
| Travel Service Airlines | Seasonal: Budapest, Prague, Warsaw [begins winter 2012] |
| TUIfly | Boa Vista, Cologne/Bonn, Hanover, Munich, Frankfurt Seasonal: Hamburg, Stuttgart |
| Tuifly operated by Hello | Basel |
| TUIfly Nordic | Copenhagen, Helsinki, Gothenburg-Landvetter, Stockholm-Arlanda |
| White Airways | Lisbon Seasonal:Bata, Porto |
| XL Airways France | Seasonal:Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris Charles-de-Gaulle |
Cargo airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Sirin | Dakar |
| Serair | Gran Canaria |
Accidents and incidents
- 1 November 1961: Panair do Brasil, a Douglas DC-7C registration PP-PDO flying from Sal to Recife, during its final approach at Recife, struck an 84m hill 2.7 km from the runway and broke-up. The aircraft was doing a night approach too low and outside the regular traffic pattern. Forty-five passengers and crew out of the 88 persons aboard died.[5] The aircraft was operating the Voo da amizade (English: Friendship Flight).
References
- ^ Airport Information on World Aero Data
- ^ Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites
- ^ "Contacts." Halcyonair. Retrieved on 14 December 2011. "Head Office Amilcar Cabral International Airport Concourse Hall, 1st floor - P. O. Box 142 " - Address in Portuguese: "Halcyonair, S.A. Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral P.O. Box 142 – Ilha do Sal – República de Cabo Verde" and "Agências Halcyonair Sal Aeroporto Internacional Amílcar Cabral Concourse Hall, 1º piso - P.O. Box 142"
- ^ "Contact Us." Cabo Verde Express. Retrieved on 14 December 2011. "Our address : Cape Verde Express The Concourse Amilcar International Airport Ilha do Sal Cape-Verde"
- ^ "Accident description PP-PDO". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
- Finelli, Marco (November 2004) "Sal: Island Gateway in the Atlantic Ocean", Airliner World, pp. 64–66.
- TACV Timetable for Sal
External links
- Template:WAD
- Airport information for GVAC at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- Airport information for GVAC at Fallingrain.com
- Current weather for GVAC at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for SID at Aviation Safety Network