Pristina International Airport Explained

Prishtina International Airport Adem Jashari
Image2-Width:250
Iata:PRN
Icao:BKPR
Type:Public/Military
Operator:Limak Kosovo International Airport J.S.C.[1]
City-Served:Pristina
Location:Lipjan, Kosovo
Opened:

Elevation-F:1,789
Elevation-M:545
Metric-Elev:Yes
Coordinates:42.5728°N 21.0358°W
Pushpin Map:Kosovo#Mediterranean#Europe
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Kosovo##Location in the Mediterranean##Location in Europe
Pushpin Label:PRN
Pushpin Label Position:right
R1-Number:17/35
R1-Length-F:9,842
R1-Length-M:3,000
R1-Surface:Asphalt
Metric-Rwy:Yes
Stat-Year:2023
Stat1-Header:Passengers
Stat1-Data:3,424,883 14.3%
Stat2-Header:Aircraft movements
Stat2-Data:23,082 5.8%
Footnotes:

Prishtina International Airport Adem Jashari (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Prishtinës Adem Jashari), also referred to as Pristina International Airport (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Prishtinës,), is an international airport in Pristina, Kosovo. The airport is located south-west of the city of Pristina, Kosovo. The airport has flights to numerous European destinations.

The airport is the only port of entry for air travelers to Kosovo.[2] It is named in honor Adem Jashari, the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

History

The airport was originally built as Slatina Air Base, containing the second-largest military underground hangar complex in Yugoslavia.

From 12 to 26 June 1999, there was a brief but tense stand-off between NATO and the Russian Kosovo Force in which Russian troops possessed the airport. A contingent of 200[4] Russian troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, crossed over into Kosovo and captured the airport in Pristina.

The apron and the passenger terminal were renovated and expanded in 2002 and again in 2009. In June 2006, Pristina International Airport was awarded the Best Airport 2006 Award by Airports Council International (ACI). Winning airports were selected for excellence and achievement across a range of disciplines including airport development, operations, facilities, security and safety, and customer service.[5]

On 12 November 2008, Pristina International Airport received for the first time in its history the annual one-millionth passenger (excluding military). A special ceremony was held at the airport where the one-millionth passenger received a free return ticket to a destination of his choice served by the airport.[6]

In late 2010, the airport was renamed from Pristina International Airport to Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari, the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which fought for the secession of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s.[7]

Due to the ongoing dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, flights to and from Pristina International Airport are impacted by the refusal of ATC in Serbia, namely SMATSA, to allow overflights via Serbian airspace.[8] This ultimately results in flight paths avoiding Serbian territory with flights to Pristina having to enter via Albanian or Macedonian airspace.[8] This dispute can generally add up to 30 minutes to a flight duration and discussions to overcome this dispute have so far failed.

Development

In 2011 operation was handed to LKIA under a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) concession award to the Turkish-French consortium Limak and Aeoroports de Lyon. In 2013 a new 42,000 m2 terminal was inaugurated.

In December 2021 the runway was extended from 2,500 m to 3,000 m and ILS upgraded from Category 2 to Category 3b.

In July 2024 number of gates increased from 8 to 12.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Pristina:[9] [10]

Statistics

Passenger and flight movements statistics (2004–2022)[11]
YearPassengersChangeFlight DeparturesChange
2004910,7979.1%4,71613.3%
2005930,346 2.1%4,983 5.7%
2006882,731 5.1%4,077 18.2%
2007990,259 12.2%4,316 5.9%
20081,130,639 14.2%4,928 14.2%
20091,191,978 5.4%5,709 15.9%
20101,305,532 9.5%6,143 7.6%
20111,422,302 8.9%6,738 9.7%
20121,527,134 7.4%6,947 3.1%
20131,628,678 6.6%7,305 5.2%
20141,404,775 13.7%5,994 17.9%
20151,549,198 10.3%6,773 13.0%
20161,744,202 12.6%7,254 7.1%
20171,885,136 8.0%7,508 3.5%
20182,165,749 14.7%8,388 11.7%
20192,373,698 9.6%18,226 8.6%
20201,102,091 53.4%8,472 53.5%
20212,180,809 97%17,842 110.6%
20222,994,560 37.3%21,842 21.3%
20233,424,883 14.3%23,082 5.8%

Ground transportation

Car

The airport is linked with the M-9 motorway, which connects with the R7 motorway.

Taxi

Taxis from the airport to Pristina are available.[12]

Bus

The airport can be reached from the city center, via the 1A bus route, which departs from the Pristina Bus Station every two hours.[13]

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes and references

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PPP Public Procurement Number PPP-09-001-611. 1. Partneritetet Kosova. 12 August 2010. 9 April 2016.
  2. Web site: Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Kosovo. Caa-ks.org. 20 April 2018.)
  3. Web site: EAD Eurocontrol. https://web.archive.org/web/20090225181202/http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/publicuser/protect/pu/main.jsp . 25 February 2009.
  4. News: Singer James Blunt 'stopped World War 3' . In an interview with BBC Radio 5Live, to be broadcast later on Sunday, he said: "I was given the direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there. . BBC . 14 November 2010. 20 March 2014.
  5. Web site: Home | Pristina International Airport. https://web.archive.org/web/20080509154223/http://www.airportpristina.com/english/about/re.htm. dead. 9 May 2008. www.limakkosovo.aero.
  6. News: . Pristina airport hits 1 million passengers . New Kosova Report . 12 November 2008 . 8 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131021181108/http://newkosovareport.com/200811121392/Business-and-Economy/prishtina-airport-hits-1-million-passengers.html . 21 October 2013 .
  7. News: . Renaming Balkan airports to annoy the neighbours . . 9 November 2017 . 3 August 2021.
  8. Web site: Focus on Kosovo. The Controller. 24 October 2018. 27 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527104759/http://the-controller.ifatca.org/2018_01/index.html#page=7. dead.
  9. http://www.airportpristina.com/destinations airportpristina.com - Destinations
  10. Web site: Kosovo bans flights from European markets. exyuaviation.com. 13 March 2020.
  11. http://www.caa-ks.org/index.php/en/statistics caa-ks.org - Statistics
  12. Web site: A guide to public transport in Pristina, Kosovo. 30 April 2019. kosovogirltravels.com.
  13. Web site: Orari dhe linjat . trafikurban-pr.com.