Batticaloa International Airport
Airport in Puthunagar, Sri Lanka / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Batticaloa International Airport?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Batticaloa International Airport (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம், romanized: Maṭṭakkaḷappu Carvatēca Vimāṉa Nilaiyam, Sinhala: මඩකලපුව ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, romanized: Maḍakalapuva Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa) (IATA: BTC, ICAO: VCCB), formerly known as Batticaloa Airport, is an airport serving eastern Sri Lanka. It is also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa or SLAF Batticaloa.[1] The airport is located in the village of Puthunagar on the island of Thimilathiu, 1 nautical mile (2 km; 1 mi) south-west of the city of Batticaloa.[2][3][4] It resides at an elevation of 3 m (10 ft) and has one runway designated 06/24 with a bitumen surface measuring 1,560 by 46 metres (5,118 ft × 151 ft).[2][5]
Batticaloa International Airport மட்டக்களப்பு சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் මඩකලපුව ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
Owner | Government of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Operator | Airport and Aviation Services | ||||||||||
Serves | Batticaloa | ||||||||||
Location | Puthunagar, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Opened | 17 November 1958 (1958-11-17) | ||||||||||
Commander | W. K. A. S. W. Vithana | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 10 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 07°42′19″N 081°40′40″E | ||||||||||
Website | Official website | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
|
Established in 1958 as a domestic airport, the airport ceased functioning in 1979 following the collapse of Air Ceylon. The site was taken over by the Sri Lanka Air Force during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Domestic flights resumed in 2018 and in 2019 it became Sri Lanka's fifth international airport.