Niš Constantine the Great Airport

Niš Constantine the Great International Airport Аеродром Ниш - Константин Велики Aerodrom Niš - Konstantin Veliki
IATA: INI – ICAO: LYNI
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Public Enterprise for Airport Services Airport Niš
Serves		Niš, Serbia
Location		Niš, Serbia
Elevation AMSL		646 ft / 197 m
Coordinates		43°20′14″N, 021°51′13″E
Website		www.airportnis.co.yu
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
11/29	8,209	2,502	Asphalt
11/29	5,577	1,700	Grass
Statistics
Passengers 2006			35,518
Passengers 2005			27,000
Passengers 2004			11,340
Sources: Official website[1]

Niš Constantine the Great Airport (Serbian: Ниш Константин Велики, Latin: Niš Konstantin Veliki) (IATA: INI, ICAO: LYNI) also known as Medoševac Airport, serves southern Serbia and the city of Niš. It is located four kilometers from the Niš city centre and is Serbia's second international airport. Excellent weather conditions during the whole year, with a few foggy and snowing days lets Niš Constantine the Great Airport become an alternative airport for Priština, Belgrade, Podgorica, Tivat, Sofia, Skopje and Ohrid. The airport has a capacity of three aircraft per hour.

Contents 1 History 2 News 3 Airlines and destinations 4 Investments and development 4.1 Open skies 5 Airport Services 6 Accessibility 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

History

The city of Niš had its airfield at nearby Međurovo village since 1910.

In the 1930s, Aeroput, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia used the airport for civil service. In the 1970s, the airport was used for occasional service to Adriatic airports (an example being Split). In the 1980s, the new terminal building was constructed and regular service by Jat Airways to Belgrade while charter flights to England began. In post WW2 years, the airport was used as a military base throughout the years. Among other units, it was a base for the "63rd Paratroops Brigade" and military transport aviation. During economic hardship and the destabilization of Serbia all services ceased in the 1990s.^[2]

In 2003 the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs invested into the airport for it to be totally reconstructed (after being damaged during the NATO 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia). The airport was opened on October 12, 2003 and named Niš Constantine the Great Airport.^[2] The military of Serbia announced that it would sell part of the airport belonging to them. Since 2003, the airport has had many disputes with national airline of Serbia Jat Airways accusing it of not wanting to set up a secondary hub in Niš while the airline says it is not profitable.^[3]. Since then a few other airlines commenced service to this airport.

Thomsonfly has successfully completed their mission for winter season of 2005-2006 and winter of 2006-2007, having 13 flights and more than 3,500 tourists, which were transported from London Gatwick, over Niš Airport to the Serbian ski centre Kopaonik. 35,518 passengers passed through the airport in 2006 thanks to 111 Montenegro Airlines flights, 118 Jat Airways flights and 14 Thomsonfly flights.

News

During the Winter season 2007/08, Jat Airways will continue to fly to Zürich twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, while Atlasjet have postponed their flights from Niš. Thomsonfly has announced flights to London via Sofia. The flights will start on the 22nd of December, 2007. It will be opperating once a week on Sundays.

Airlines and destinations

• Jat Airways
  • Zurich (Zurich Airport)
• Thomsonfly
  • London (London Gatwick Airport)
  • Sofia (Sofia Airport)

Investments and development

With only a few flights a week from Niš Constantine the Great, the airport has had a successful second year of operation. It recorded around 27,000 passengers in 2005, approx 42% more than in 2004. The rate of growth was the same in 2006.

Niš Constantine the Great has successfully conducted TAM program (Turn Around Management) of the European bank for reconstruction and development (EBRD) whose goal is to improve the work of the management and strategy preparation for the development of the Niš airport. TAM program's expert, Micheal Kellaway estimated Niš Constantine the Great Airport as great potential and that with 28,000 passengers could in the next few years get to the level of 200,000 passenger a year. The director of Niš airport Radisav Radojković said that thanks to this program of management of Constantine the Great Airport it succeeded in identifying and focusing on the most important aspects of its business according to the market's principals.

Open skies

Further increase of traffic at this airport is expected when the open skies agreement takes place, since it will give airlines the opportunity to land without the prolonged agreements as experienced today. The airport management claims that low-cost carriers such as Ryanair are interested in flying to the airport.^[4] This agreement was signed by Serbian Government and is to come to effect as soon as it is approved by the parliament.^[5]

Airport Services

Airport operational hours: 24 hrs on request (carriers should send their Handling Request to iniport@airportnis.co.yu or fax: 00381 18 583 003 until 1530LT on Fridays for flights planned for Sat & Sun).^[1]

Accessibility

The airport is very close to the downtown (about 3.5 km, 2 mi). There is a dedicated "Airport Niš" bus line that connects airport to most of the Niš suburbs (line 34). Taxi service is available at any time for any city destination and more. If calling from a cellular phone, it is useful to know that the dial code for Serbia is 381, and for Niš, 18. When calling from a pay-phone in Niš, it is not necessary to use a dial code. From other places in Serbia, dial 018 prior to the phone number indicated. Cost of the cab transportation is relatively low. Average cost within the city is approximately 200 RSD (about 2.5€ or USD$3). The airport staff can request taxi drivers that are able to communicate in English in order to make the trip more convenient for tourists. There are also many 'rent-a-car' agencies at the airport baggage claim area.

References

See also

• List of airports in Serbia
• Constantine the Great
• List of the largest airports in the South Slavic countries

External links

• Niš Constantine the Great International Airport
• Tourist Organization of Niš
• (Serbian) Niški aerodrom - slomljena krila
• Serbian Aeronautical Information Publication from European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation basic (free registration required)
• Airport information for LYNI at World Aero Data

•  • e Airports in Serbia
International airports	Belgrade Nikola Tesla · Niš Constantine the Great · Priština International · Vršac International
Domestic airports	Bor · Čačak-Preljina · Bela Crkva · Kikinda · Knjaževac · Kostolac · Kraljevo Sport · Kruševac · Leskovac · Lisičji Jarak · Novi Sad · Pančevo · Paraćin · Požarevac · Progar · Smederevo · Smederevska Palanka · Sremska Mitrovica · Stara Pazova · Subotica · Trstenik · Valjevo · Zemun Polje · Zrenjanin ·
Military airfields and airports	Banjički Vis · Batajnica · Bojnik · Đakovica · Batlava · Kovin · Kraljevo-Lađevci · Sjenica · Slatina Air Base · Sombor · Užice-Ponikve