Samedan Airport Explained

Samedan Airport
Nativename:Flughafen Engadin
Image2-Width:250
Iata:SMV
Icao:LSZS
Type:Public and military
Owner:Engadin Airport AG
Operator:Engadin Airport AG
City-Served:St. Moritz, Switzerland
Location:Samedan
Metric-Elev:y
Elevation-M:1,707
Elevation-F:5,600
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Number:03/21
R1-Length-M:1,800
R1-Length-F:5,905
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Stat-Year:2022
Stat1-Header:Movements
Stat1-Data:15,923
Footnotes:Sources: airport web site[1]
Statistic from Engadin Airport AG.[2]

Samedan Airport, also known as Engadin Airport, is a regional airport in Samedan in the Engadin valley of Switzerland, 5 km from St. Moritz.

History

At the end of World War II, Swiss authorities identified existing locations that were to be modernized with new regional airports, as second tiers of infrastructure to support the primary urban airports, with Samedan being one of the five.[3]

Facilities

The airport has one runway designated 03/21 with an asphalt pavement measuring 1800 x 40 metres (5905 x 130 ft).[1] Because of its location at the bottom of a valley, it is not equipped with an instrument landing system.

Operations

At an elevation of 1,707 metres (5,600 ft), it is the second highest airliner airport in Europe (with Courchevel being the highest). It is also considered one of the most challenging airports in the world because of its difficult topography and winds, and because of the thinness of the air at its altitude.[4] The airport does not have any scheduled passenger flights (the nearest such airports are Lugano, 185 km/115 mi Milan Malpensa/Milan, 180km/112mi, and Zürich, 220 km/135 mi distance by road). Much of its traffic consists of light to heavy general aviation traffic, including many private-corporate jets, private propeller aircraft, and the fleet of Swiss Jet.

See also

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. http://www.engadin-airport.ch/ Engadin Airport
  2. Web site: JAHRESRECHNUNG ENGADIN AIRPORT AG GESCHÄFTSJAHR 2021 . Annual Report 2021 Engadin Airport AG . de-ch . PDF; 278 KB . Engadin Airport AG . 2023-02-07.
  3. Bell . E. A. . 10 May 1945 . Swiss Planning . Flight and Aircraft Engineer . Royal Aero Club . XLVII . 1898 . 501 . 5 July 2016.
  4. News: Chapman. Mathias. Samedan gilt als anspruchsvollster Flughafen weltweit. 20 December 2010. Berner Zeitung. 20 December 2010.