Gjakova Airport AMIKO (, ''Aerodrom Đakovica'') is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

in the village Lugbunar, near

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

in western

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. The airport is currently in military use by the

Kosovo Security Force The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is the military of Kosovo. The KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civilian authorities, and participation in international Peacekeeping, peacekee ...

. The possibility for the airport to serve a dual civilian-military use has also been mentioned. In that scenario, the airport would host

low-cost A no-frills or no frills service or product is one for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The term "Ruffle (sewing), frills" originally refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers f ...

commercial airlines and cargo flights. However, such plans by the Kosovo government are difficult to implement due to the contract with “Limak & Aeroport de Lyon,” which does not allow for competition to the

Pristina International Airport The Prishtina International Airport Adem Jashari (), also referred to as Pristina International Airport (, ), is an international airport in Pristina, Kosovo. The airport is located southwest of the capital city of Pristina. The airport has flig ...

until 2030.

History

The airport was built by the

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (European ...

(KFOR) following the 1999

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

, next to an existing airfield used for agricultural purposes, and was used mainly for military and humanitarian flights. On 18 December 2013, the airport was handed over to the

Government of Kosovo The Government of Kosovo (, ) exercises executive authority in the Republic of Kosovo. It is composed of government ministers, and is led by the prime minister. The prime minister is elected by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Ministe ...

from the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

. Under Italian Air Force operations, Gjakova Airfield handled more than 27,000 aircraft, 220,000 passengers and the carriage of more than 40,000 tons of cargo. After its transfer to the Kosovo authorities, the Kosovo government planned to turn the Gjakova Airport into a civilian and commercial airport and established the "Gjakova Airport"

public enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

in 2014. The airport was audited by the Civil aviation authority of Kosovo in 2016, and the report concluded that the airport had the necessary infrastructure to serve commercial flights. In 2018 the Kosovo Government transferred the Gjakova Airport to the Kosovo Ministry Defense for the purpose of it being used by the Kosovo Security Force. The airport was renovated in 2021 and 2022 by the Ministry of Defense and its perimeter defenses were upgraded.

References

External links

Gjakova Airport aerial photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dakovica Airport Airports in Kosovo Gjakova

History

See also

References

External links