Sliač Air Base

Letecká základňa Sliač
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
LocationSliač, Slovakia
Elevation AMSL1,043 ft / 318 m
Coordinates48°38′17″N 19°8′3″E / 48.63806°N 19.13417°E / 48.63806; 19.13417
Map
Sliač Air Base is located in Banská Bystrica Region
Sliač Air Base
Sliač Air Base
Location of airport in the Banská Bystrica Region
Sliač Air Base is located in Slovakia
Sliač Air Base
Sliač Air Base
Sliač Air Base (Slovakia)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,400 7,678 Concrete

Sliač Air Base (IATA: SLD, ICAO: LZSL), historically, Letisko Sliač ("Sliač Airport") or Letisko Tri Duby (literally, "The Three Oaks Airport") is a military airport in central Slovakia situated between the towns of Zvolen and Banská Bystrica and near the spa town of Sliač. The airport has one runway which is 2,400 m long (18/36). The airport is used only by the military since October 2021, when the airport has been closed to all civilian traffic. In 2022, the airport operator company Letisko Sliač a.s. went into liquidation and all airport equipment was sold.[1][2]

History

The "Tri Duby Airport" played an important role during the Slovak National Uprising in 1944 when it became the most important airport of the Anti-Fascism in Slovakia. Between September 6 and October 25, 1944, the airport was being used as the main base of the Slovak Insurgent Air Force but because of the advancing German units, it later had to be evacuated. While the territory controlled by the Slovak rebels was being encircled by the German forces, "Tri Duby" and the nearby Zolná airport were the main gateways to the rest of the world. In addition to the significant Soviet aid to Slovakia, the United States, too, were sending in supplies and OSS operatives through "Tri Duby", and these flights were also used to evacuate American aeronauts liberated from the German POW camps.

The airport changed its name from "Tri Duby" to Sliač in 1945. Following the Prague Spring in 1968, the airfield became a base for the Soviet Union's air forces, which belonged to relations and Sliač as a fighter-bomber and surveillance base here until 1990.

In 2009, it was closed for a major reconstruction project financed in part by NATO and the EU. It was reopened for military use in May 2011, and for civilian use in June 2011. Since October 2021, the airport has been closed to all civilian traffic. The airport operator company Letisko Sliač a.s. went bankrupt in 2022. Sliač Airport operated only summer charter flights to popular sea resort destinations in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece and Egypt. According to ADS-B tracking data, beginning on April 26, 2022 the airport received multiple visits by three LM-100J aircraft (N67AU, N96MG, N71KM) belonging to the American company Pallas Aviation. By December 1, 2023 these flights numbered at least 80, almost all originating at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Statistics

A Slovak Air Force MiG-29 takes off to perform an aerial demonstration during the Slovak International Air Fest at Sliač Airport
A C-130H Hercules of U.S. Air Force, takes off to perform an airdrop during exercise Slovak Warthog at Sliač Airport

Passenger throughput and operations 2013 - 2019:[3]

Year Passengers Change Cargo (tonnes)
2013 24,165 63.64
2014 23,663 -2.08% 296.00
2015 35,682 +50.79% 116.50
2016 22,511 -36.91% 592.20
2017 34,827 +54.71% 485.29
2018 41,866 +20.27% 73.92
2019[4] 39,089 -6.68%

References

  1. ↑ "." Sliač Airport. Retrieved on May 9, 2022. "Letisko Sliač, a.s. „v likvidácii“ – zoznam majetku."
  2. ↑ "." Sliač Airport. Retrieved on May 9, 2022. "Verejné ponukové konanie."
  3. ↑ "Výkony letísk".
  4. ↑ "Letisko Sliač má za sebou jednu z najúspešnejších sezón, prepravilo viac ako 39-tisíc cestujúcich". 25 May 2023.

Media related to Sliač Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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