AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT International News Each Issue of Airport Development Focuses on a Different Region of the World, with Global News at the End of This Section
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Page 1 of 11 25 October 2020 No. 1131 DEV Published biweekly – available by annual subscription only – www.mombergerairport.info Editorial office / Subscriptions e-mail: [email protected] Managing Editor / Publisher: Martin Lamprecht [email protected] News Editor: Paul Ellis [email protected] – Founding Editor: Manfred Momberger Momberger Airport Information by Air Trans Source Inc. – international news & data – published since 1973 AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT International News Each issue of Airport Development focuses on a different region of the world, with global news at the end of this section. A list of past focus regions published in recent years can be downloaded from the Bonus section in the subscriber pages of our website. Focus Region: Central Asia ARMENIA A group of experts led by Vahagn Vermishyan, Chairman of the Armenian Urban Development Committee, had studied the condition of the old terminal of Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport in 2019. According to a Committee’s Facebook post, the experts group consisted of adviser Armen Minasyan, a co-founder of the Iranian Sharif University of Technology Mark Grigoryan, French architect of Armenian descent Ara Tajiryan, and doctor of structural studies Karl Grigoryan. Later they had a meeting with the head of the State Civil Aviation Committee Tatevik Revazyan to look into the possibilities of expanding Zvartnots International Airport, with the focus on options for using its old terminal, considered a masterpiece of Soviet Armenian architecture. It was designed by a group of architects led by Arthur Tarkhanyan and was commissioned in 1980. According to experts, the building is physically worn out and its reconstruction will require investments of some USD 15 - 20 million. Zvartnots Airport in the capital Yerevan and Shirak Airport in Gyumri, the second-largest town, are run by Armenia – International Airports in accordance with a 30-year concessional management agreement sealed with the Armenian government. The company belongs to American International Airports, an Argentine company owned by Eduardo Eurnekian, an Argentine entrepreneur of Armenian descent. The operator would seek a permission from the Yerevan Municipality to demolish the old terminal, but under public pressure, the building was recognized as a cultural heritage site. #1131.1 The country’s highest airport is in Jermuk at an altitude of 2,070 m, serving a town in Vayots Dzor Province. Jermuk’s airport is not only unique because of its elevation: The northern end of its runway is 45 meters higher than its southern end. In other words, the Jermuk runway is quite steep, a feature that can be seen with the naked eye. The airport has been in operation since 1956. Initially, the runway was gravel, only suitable for 12-seat An-2 aircraft, Soviet mass-produced single engine biplanes. Sometimes, helicopters also flew to Jermuk. In 1966, a terminal was built in Jermuk, which is still standing. However, after ten years, the runway was still gravel, which meant that it could be used mainly by An-2s. In 1976, an asphalt overlay was applied, and the runway length was 1,640 m, with a width of 28 m, but it was about 700 m shorter than required. Filling this gap resulted in the 45 m height difference between the runway’s two ends that meant after landing on the inclined runway, aircraft coming from the south soon lost speed and stopped earlier than planned due to the incline. On take-off, given that aircraft started at a higher point, aircraft left the ground faster than on a flat runway. Thus, the slope worked in favour of the shortness of the asphalt runway. On the other hand, since Jermuk Airport is in a very difficult topographical location, nestled in the hills, it was necessary to develop a proper flight plan, which was drafted and approved by the USSR Ministry of Civil Aviation and the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation. In December 1976, the first Yerevan - Jermuk flight, on a Yak-40 aircraft, took place. Although Jermuk Airport operated all year long, winter flights were sporadic. Yerevan's Erebuni Airport, which served Copyright © 2020 - Momberger Airport Information - www.mombergerairport.info Page 2 of 11 25 October 2020 No. 1131 DEV Armenia's domestic air routes, was the only point with which Jermuk had a regular air connection with only one Yak-40 daily flight. This was eventually cancelled, leaving only the An-2s, whose flights had also declined, and the last one was in 1989. Since the 1990s, only helicopters carrying high-ranking government officials have used Jermuk Airport. Eventually, the Armenian Civil Aviation Administration, in connection with the development of a union health resort in Jermuk, decided to build a new airport at a new location that could accommodate larger aircraft and link Jermuk directly with Moscow. Although preliminary approval for the project had been obtained, the plan was not implemented. The draft concept, developed by the General Department of Civil Aviation (now the Civil Aviation Committee), stated: "To assess the feasibility of restoring light aviation, the feasibility of relaunching the Vardenis, Gavar, Meghri, Kapan, Goris, Sisian and Jermuk airports has been explored." The Department of Civil Aviation viewed the development of light aviation in Jermuk from a tourism perspective. Concerned with the prospects of developing Armenia as a transit country for north-south traffic, it was concluded that the Goris Airport could become an alternative to the Zvartnots and Shirak airports in the republic given its distance and connections both with Nagorno-Karabakh and with the southern regions of Armenia. On the instruction of the Prime Minister, specialists from the Department of Civil Aviation and the Ministry should conduct a study in Goris. In other words, the airport in Goris, not Jermuk, was selected as an alternate and regional airport to the Yerevan and Gyumri airports, but this plan did not come true. And Jermuk did not have a new airport. The idea of developing small aviation in Jermuk was reopened by Karen Karapetyan's government (2016-2018). In October 2017, the latter presented a report of its last year (2016-2017), in which it noted in particular: “In order to assess the development potential of the small aviation sector in the Republic of Armenia, in 2017, the Civil Aviation Department, together with a number of other agencies of the Republic of Armenia, has studied transport flows in various directions. In addition, the General Directorate has studied the opportunities and assessments of city airport re-openings in Stepanavan, Jermuk, Sisian, Goris, Kapan, and Meghri (Agarak).” Within the framework of the ‘Comprehensive Light Aviation Development Programme in the Republic of Armenia’, which was a priority task of the Government in 2017, the General Department of Civil Aviation examined the operational status of the Stepanavan, Jermuk, Sisian, Goris, Meghri and Kapan airports and the reopening opportunities of the airports, approximate volumes, market analysis, and a pre-selection of aircraft type. The studies have been summarized by a corresponding letter submitted to the Government of Armenia and the relevant departments. -- It turned out that Jermuk Airport has been in private hands since 2006, and almost no one knew about it until now, thirteen years later. #1131.2 GEORGIA In July 2011, the Russian airport operator Novaport took control of Sukhumi-Babushara Airport and started a restoration programme of the terminal building, which never was completed. The airport is still without commercial traffic apart from a few general aviation flights. The military uses the airport regularly. – In 1999, Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia. It is located between Georgia and Russia and has around 250,000 inhabitants. The Abkhazia region has another airport at Gudauta. #1131.3 AZERBAIJAN Baku’s ‘Heydar Aliyev International Airport’ has partnered with Amadeus to implement a full suite of its core airport management systems, making it the world's first fully cloud-based airport. The move comes as Azerbaijan and its capital city Baku prioritize global connectivity to enable business travellers and tourists to visit the Central Asian country. Also joining the airport in the drive for Copyright © 2020 - Momberger Airport Information - www.mombergerairport.info Page 3 of 11 25 October 2020 No. 1131 DEV improved connectivity is Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), which will be implementing the Altéa Passenger Service Systems (PSS) and Revenue Management solutions for improved passenger experience. The Amadeus Airport IT technology suite includes all its core airport management systems such as an operational database, resource management and flight information display systems. The airport will also deploy its key passenger processing systems using Amadeus’ cloud-based Airport Common Use Service. The implementation of these new airport systems will enable world-class operations at Baku’s international airport with all actors now working from a single, consistent view of operations without the need for manual updates. Bruno Spada, Executive Vice President, Airport IT at Amadeus, said: “We believe that forward-thinking airports such as Heydar Aliyev International demonstrate the significant integration, collaboration and mobility benefits the cloud can deliver. Successfully working with Baku to manage both its passenger and operational systems in the cloud is a landmark for Amadeus in the airport industry.” #1131.4 KAZAKHSTAN The new airport serving Turkestan City, ‘Hazret Sultan International’ (HAS), is located 16 km from the city centre and stretches across 905 hectares. Construction began in May 2019 by the Turkish YDA Group using a public-private partnership model. In the initial stages, Kazakh airlines plan to operate flights to the country’s biggest cities - Nur-Sultan and Almaty - and later to other regions. The Civil Aviation Committee said that Turkish Airlines plans to launch direct flights to Istanbul. The airport in Turkestan will also join the country’s eleven airports that operate under the open- skies aviation regime.