Aerodromes in Republic of North Macedonia

Glavinov, Aleksandar and Ivanovski, Nikola (2019) Aerodromes in Republic of North Macedonia. Knowledge - International Journal, Scientific Papers, 31 (3). pp. 711-718. ISSN 2545-4439

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Abstract

Abstract:
The regulatory body for aerodromes and its infrastructure in Republic of North Macedonia is Civil Aviation Authority of North Macedonia (CAA). CAA is responsible for the certifying and oversight of the aerodromes around the country. In North Macedonia we have 2 international aerodromes, 5 sport airfields and 6 airfields for agricultural aviation. The international airport Skopje, located in vicinity of the capital Skopje and the international airport St. Apostle Paul in Ohrid. Both of the airports are operated by TAV Macedonia Ltd. since 1st March 2010 and its passenger turnover and capacities increased drastically in the last 5 years. Taking into account their current infrastructure, possibilities for renovation and future increase of their capacity we can say that International airport Skopje is near its maximum capabilities in both terms of infrastructure capacity and possible upgrade to a higher level of classification for instrument approach and runway extension or strengthening to accommodate larger aircrafts. Additionally, both airports in Skopje and Ohrid suffer from specific meteorological condition during the winter months with a foggy days mainly due to their geographic location in valley surrounded by high terrain. Resulting from the foggy days, many flights are delayed or cancelled, with foggy days accounting 7-9 days per month during January and February in Skopje. As a comparison, some of the airports in the region such as Belgrade airport, Sofia airport or Thessaloniki airport have better infrastructure, longer runways with higher PCN characteristics able to accommodate heavier fleet of aircraft and higher level of classification for instrument approach – CAT IIIB or CAT IIIC, allowing them to continue operations even during heavy fog or no visibility at all. As a comparison, our international airport in Skopje has a classification of CAT I for instrument approaches and due to high terrain in the final approach and the resulting steep glide path of 3.3° is not able to upgrade to CAT II instrument approaches or higher. In order for us to be able to keep up with the airports in our region and be able to offer more on the market and be competitive, the only solution is to build a new airport on a location that will not be affected by obstacles, without the valley effect and foggy days. The new location will need to offer expansion possibilities allowing for new, longer runways to be built and certified for CAT III approaches in order to attract more airlines to open new routes to our country.

Keywords: airport capacity, infrastructure facilities, landing flight path, aircraft

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Engineering and Technology > Civil engineering
Divisions: Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences
Depositing User: Aleksandar Glavinov
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2019 08:46
Last Modified: 24 Jul 2019 08:46
URI: https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/22289

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