Comments 301 to 350 of 5,161
Earthquake 2015
This airport is the main entry point for supplies into Nepal after the April 2015 earthquake, since the country is landlocked and there aren't any major land links. Unfortunately, news today (2015-05-03) is that the runway is starting to suffer damage from so many landings over the past week, so they've restricted it to smaller aircraft only.
Closing
Details here: http://copa8.blogspot.ca/2015/01/pontiac-airpark-project-ends.html
Atlantic FBO in Manhattan
I jogged by here yesterday morning on my way down the East River Greenway (with "green" in sarcastic quotation marks). It was a surprise to see the familiar Atlantic Aviation logo on a sign right beside the path, even though I knew there was a heliport around here. It looks like a nasty landing spot -- the elevated FDR drive is right on the edge of the heliport (Atlantic is tucked underneath it), so if there were an east wind, you'd have to be very careful about your landing.
Contact info
Phone: +1-807-473-2082
Open space
I visited the park on the old airport site today. I'm sad that it closed, but it's still worth a visit: people use the runways for cycling, jogging, rollerblading, and kite-surfing, and for a pilot (or aviation fan), it's interesting being able to walk up to the hold-short line for 27R, then on along the runway.
Ground transportation
I landed at Tegel this week, so clearly it's still open, despite the comment I left 7 1/2 years ago. As the Wikipedia article mentions, walking distances are extremely short — in less than 5 minutes, I was off the plane and in a cab.
A taxi to my hotel near the Heinrich-Heine Straße U-Bahn station was €35, which is a bit pricey. I have since discovered that there is an express bus "TXL" that takes 41 minutes from Alexanderplatz to Tegel (or vice versa). Details here: http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/17131/name/JetExpressBus+TXL.html
Increased fees
The Porter FBO now charges $50+tax/night for tie-down for a single-engine piston plane; no discount for fuel (unless you buy more than 400 litres / 105 US gallons).
The Trans-Capital ramp at the other (east) end of the airport charges $35/night, but doesn't sell fuel.
Closing in 2018
From the airport's Wikipedia article: "The airport will close by the end of 2018 after an agreement was struck re-purposing the land which houses it for residential apartments ..."
Customs at HPN
I'm planning to fly into HPN from Canada this Sunday, so I called to find out about service at 914-428-7858. They need two hours notice (plus an eAPIS), and you taxi to Jet Systems (Signature?) next to the tower after landing. Hours seem to be 06:00–20:00 local weekdays, 12:00–20:00 local weekends, but call to confirm. They can also do after-hours with four hours notice, but I suspect there would be a call-out charge.
re: Spelling of name
Updated — thank you very much.
GA-friendly
From http://airport.westchestergov.com/general-aviation/flight-services :
"Westchester County has affirmative policies encouraging the use of light general aviation at the airport in its effort to maintain a persified [sic] aviation community. Two of the five fixed base operators at the airport specialize in light general aviation services."
Everything open late
I arrived just before 11 pm for a 1 am flight. The checking and security lines were fast and efficient (much better than at a North American airport), and most of the restaurants and businesses were still open at midnight and beyond. On arrival, the passport/visa line was a bit disorganised, but on departure, I'd rate this as one of the best airports I've passed through.
re: Spam?
We just had another burst, @ptomblin - I've cleaned them up.
Allow *lots* of time for international connections
While I like flying into Dulles as a private pilot, I had a very bad experience here as a passenger changing planes. I arrived on an international flight from Switzerland last Saturday, on time, with a scheduled 2-hour stopover. By the time I lined up for US immigration, lined up for the exit from the baggage area, then lined up again for a second security screening (totally unnecessary, since we'd never left the secure area), I'd used up most of the stopover time, and my next flight had already boarded. I made it on board after a very long run, but just barely.
So if you're switching from an international flight at Dulles, 2 hours is barely enough -- I'd suggest leaving more if you can, at least until the airport decides to stop abusing passengers with redundant security screenings.
Quick visit
I changed planes here last Saturday on a long, multi-leg United Airlines trip from Geneva to Tucson. I didn't have much time to look around, but it wasn't too long a walk to my connection, and I had a chance to buy a smoothie on the way. Most food places were still open Saturday evening, which was nice.
Taxis
I arrived in TUS late Saturday night on a delayed United Airlines flight. I suspect we were the last flight in. The airport was mostly empty, aside from a few cleaners, security staff, etc., but there were still a lot of taxis waiting outside at the queue, which was a relief.
Winch-launch only
No tow-planes, according to the web site, but motor gliders are allowed.
Rental cars
The rental-car companies at YAM now are Avis and National: http://www.saultairport.com/groundtransportation.php
re: NDB Noexistant
Thank you — I've deleted the NDB and added the traffic frequency.
re: KLM
That's great news! When the flights start, we'll toggle the "scheduled airline service" flag.
re: HEATHROW DE LONDRES UN AEROPUERTO PROFESIONAL
Reply to @ELICE: en mi experiencia, el única problema serio con Heathrow es la espera larga en las aduanas. En otros aspectos, me parece un buen aeropuerto, y es fácil llegar al centro de Londres desde allí.
Easy international connection
Nice, easy connection here in mid November -- I had only an hour to connect from an inbound Montreal flight to an outbound Bogotá flight, but I was able to stay in the international terminal without going out and back in through security, like at some other airports.
re: AUB Beacon and fuel
Does anyone have the latitude and longitude for the AUB NDB? I'd like to add it to the database, if I can confirm it.
re: communication frequencies St.Johann
Added as "CTAF" -- thanks.
re: Calga Airport
Can't see an airport in the satellite imagery, despite the ICAO listing for YCAA. Marking as "closed" until someone can confirm that it actually (still) exists.
re: Glider regionnal club.
Thanks - I've added those as "CTAF" for now, but please feel free to edit them (under the "Pilot info" tab) to be more specific.
re: Phone number
This number is still listed in the CFS.
Closed to the public
Glider traffic only.
Closed, or just in receivership?
All airlines have ceased flights to this airport, but is it closed to non-airline flights?
Don't transfer here
Not a fun place to transfer after an overnight international flight. Shift change at customs happens at 6:00, and the customs line did not move for 1/2 hour, as it grew longer and longer. Have to reclear security to transfer from the international terminal to a domestic flight at terminal 3, and construction made things painfully slow there (once we all found a way in).
Choose any other airport, even Atlanta or Chicago.
Good airport
This is a pleasant, modern, and efficient airport. We had to wait a few minutes for a gate (because we'd landed 35 minutes early), but it wasn't nearly as bad as what I've experienced at YYZ or LAX. After landing, I was through immigration and customs much faster than I would be in a Canadian or US airport, and everyone was friendly and efficient. The car ride into the city was much nicer than, say, the urban blight you seen driving in from Newark.
One tip: travel guides say that it's best to order a car or taxi in Bogotá, rather than just getting into one. I don't know if that applies at the airport as well, but it's not expensive (it cost me about $25 for a car and driver from the airport into the Parque 93 district).
re: Airport Information
Thank you - I've added the runway information to the Pilot Info tab.
re: How can I download CSV files?
Reply to @simurqq: There was an error in the script that generates the CSV files, but it is fixed now. Apologies for the problem.
re: Runway closed
Thank you for the information. Does anyone have a source for the airport move? I can't see the new airport in Google sat imagery (probably because it's too new), so I'm looking for some type of confirmation. The Panamanian civil aviation authority web site at http://www.aeronautica.gob.pa/noticia/index.php wasn't helpful.
Can anyone verify?
I can make out what might be a landing strip beside the pond, but it's extremely small -- it wouldn't work for anything but an ultralight, at best.
re: not possible this airport would be international
"International" is a bit of a misleading term. All you need to be an Airport of Entry (AoE) is to have customs services available. In Canada, we have grass strips and even water aerodromes that you could call "international."
re: Does it really exist?
It's in a lot of older databases. Marked as closed, assuming that it went out of service and was built over. If anyone has more information, please let us know.
re: CTAF
Thank you for the update. I've distinguished the two on the pilot-info page now.
re: updated photos and images of lungi international airport
Thanks for your comment. We rely on Google Maps for our satellite imagery, and on FlightStats.com for arrival and departure information, so unfortunately, we're unable to present better information until they make it available.
re: no service category
Thanks - status updated.
re: Hibaldstow Airfield
Reply to @cliffair: that link seems to refer to Hinton-in-the-Hedges airport: http://www.ourairports.com/airports/GB-0073
re: VFR into teterboro
I fly my Warrior into KTEB frequently, but it's always from the north -- from that side, you can drop below NY approach airspace, and it's just a matter of calling up KTEB like any other towered airport. From the south, you might have to negotiate more-complex airspace, or make a big loop around.
When you're leaving, if you're VFR, tower will often let you cut ahead of the long line of bizjets and take an intersection departure.
Gas is expensive, but that's life near NYC. Call your FBO of choice first, and make sure you ask about *all* fees. I was surprised by a new customs fee on my last visit this past summer (since I was coming from Canada), but Atlantic very kindly and quickly refunded it.
Main air force base
This is the main base of the SAAF.
re: Map to Swartkop Airport
Updated - thanks
re: web design
Thanks for the feedback. Any suggestions on how to improve it?
David Megginson, Founder, OurAirports
re: Identifier?
Reply to @ptomblin: I have an old paper copy of the official ICAO "Location Identifiers" doc (ICAO Doc 7910/128) from June 2008. It lists no identifier "KGVQ". The closest ones are "KGUS" (Grisson AFB) and "KGVW" (Kansas City, Richards-Gebaur Airport). I suspect that someone was using "ICAO" informally, as a synonym for "four-letter all-alpha identifier".
The confusion over ICAO identifiers, especially in the US, is the main reason that I went for "GPS code" instead with OurAirports.
re: Identifier?
Reply to @ptomblin: you have to pay for the official list, but here's a copy (re)published by Mexico in 2010: http://www.mexico.icao.int/icaoaspa2010/ECCAIRS/Documentation/Taxonomy/R4CDLocationIndicatorsByState.pdf
re: Keep this Forum to the point.
I think this poster is confused about who wrote what. I am the owner of OurAirports, and have posted nothing about the accident people are discussing
re: Fort Erie Airport
According to the CFS, the western 2,350 ft portion of the runway is still in use. If you zoom in on the satellite view, you'll see a faint "28" painted about a third of the way from the east end of the runway.
Accra Mall
🔗 Tue, 02 Jun 2015
— @david at Kotoka International Airport, Ghana
The Accra Mall (the biggest mall in West Africa, though small by North American/European standards) is only 2 km away, and getting there should cost about 10 cedi (~USD 3.00) in taxi fare. As always in Accra, negotiate the fare *before* you get in the cab — there are no metres — and don't feel bad if you end up paying a bit extra because you're obviously not local.