Podgorica Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Подгорица, Aerodrom Podgorica, ) is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer r ...

serving the Montenegrin capital of

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro form ...

and the surrounding region. It is one of two international airports in Montenegro, the other being

Tivat Airport Tivat Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Тиват, Aerodrom Tivat) is an international airport serving the Montenegrin coastal town of Tivat and the surrounding region. The airport is situated south of the centre of Tivat, with the runway align ...

. Both are operated by the state-owned company Airports of Montenegro (Аеродроми Црне Горе / ''Aerodromi Crne Gore''). The airport is situated south of central Podgorica, in the Zeta Plain, one of the few flat areas of Montenegro suitable for a large airport. The airport is locally known as Golubovci Airport ( cnr, Аеродром Голубовци, Aerodrom Golubovci) as it is located within the administrative boundaries of the town of Golubovci. The IATA code of the airport is still TGD because Podgorica was named Titograd (after

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

) from 1946 to 1992, during the time in which the airport opened. It is the main hub for Di Air and was the main hub for

Montenegro Airlines Montenegro Airlines a.d. ( cg, Montenegro erlajns) was the flag carrier of Montenegro, headquartered in Podgorica. It operated scheduled and charter services throughout Europe from its hub at Podgorica Airport with a second base maintained at ...

History

The history of civil aviation in Podgorica began on 26 May 1928, when an

Aeroput Aeroput () was an airline and flag carrier of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia from 1927 until 1948. Society for Air traffic List of legal entity types by country#Serbia, AD Aeroput was the first Serbian company for civil air traffic, which was ...

Potez 29/2 landed on a grass runway at a small airfield located near the city's current train station. The plane was on an experimental

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

line, organized to determine the viability of linking Belgrade with southern

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

by air. On 5 May 1930, scheduled passenger service began on a Belgrade-Sarajevo-Podgorica line. Aeroput used Farman F.300 aircraft on this line.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

brought an end to passenger traffic at the airfield. In 1943 and 1944, the airfield was used by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

in then

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

-occupied Montenegro. It was a frequent target in the now infamous bombing of Podgorica, which resulted in significant German losses. After the war, passenger service resumed on 8 April 1947, with newly formed JAT flights to

on a

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

converted for passenger use. A cargo line to Belgrade was later established in 1957. The airport was moved to its present location south of the city in 1961. It featured a asphalt runway and was modernized and refurbished in 1977. The majority of traffic in this period consisted of scheduled flights to Belgrade, mostly with

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Afte ...

aircraft. Špiro Mugoša Airport now occupies the former site. On 23 April 2003, the ownership of the airport was transferred from JAT Airways to Airports of Montenegro, a public company owned by the

Government of Montenegro The Government of Montenegro ( cnr, Vlada Crne Gore, Влада Црне Горе) is the executive branch of state authority in Montenegro. It is headed by the prime minister. It consists of the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers as we ...

. Along with the formation and growth of

, this contributed to an increase in services from the airport. The decades-long practice of the airport being largely a feeder airport for Belgrade was dropped in favor of a more diverse network of scheduled passenger flights. A major renovation and expansion took place in 2006, with refurbishment and extension of the apron and improvements to the taxiways system, airfield lighting system, and power supply. An entirely new passenger terminal was opened on 14 May 2006, while the old passenger terminal underwent reconstruction and refurbishment in 2009. The improved taxiway system allowed for

wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy c ...

to be serviced at the airport. Thus, the airport began servicing Il-86s and the first

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

freighter arrived at the airport in April 2008. In December 2020,

went into

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

, leaving the airport without a home carrier. Air Montenegro started operations on 8 February 2021.ch-aviation.com - Montenegro Airlines suspends operations from December 26
25 December 2020

Facilities

Terminals

As air traffic in Montenegro saw a rapid increase in the 2000s, the old passenger terminal, a small

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fr ...

building, was retired after the new terminal was built, except for servicing small-volume charter flights. The new passenger terminal, comprising , opened on 14 May 2006. It has eight departure and two arrival gates, and is able to handle up to 1 million passengers annually. The terminal does not feature

jetways A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...

, as the number of passengers at the airport is not high enough to necessitate them. The main (new) terminal building is a modern aluminium and glass structure, featuring contemporary architectural solutions such as indirect lighting throughout the building. Since its opening, it has featured a Costa Coffee outlet, two newspaper stalls, a

duty-free shop A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

, rent-a-car posts, and a bank outlet. Although the airport is considered low-risk, security screening has been visibly increased since the construction of the new terminal. Security measures and monitoring that are standard for European airports are applied in the terminal. The old terminal building was completely renovated and reopened on 15 September 2009 and is now intended for VIP use and

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

Runway

Standard runway 36 approach includes a spectacular 200° low-level steep turn over

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

to align with the runway, only above the water surface. The airport has

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

classification 4E ILS Cat I, though ILS landing is only possible on runway 36; the northern approach to runway 18 is visual only, possible under perfect VMC. This is due to the proximity of the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

in the north.

Military use

Podgorica Airport is a public international airport, but shares the main runway with Podgorica's military airbase. Military facilities include an airbase area adjacent to the main runway, as well as the ''Šipčanik'' complex. The ''Šipčanik'' complex consisted of an underground aircraft shelter tunneled into the eponymous hill, and an adjacent narrow 08/26 runway, which could be used to scramble jets stored in the shelter. This runway is connected to the main airport complex via a taxiway cut through surrounding vineyards. On 9 December 1999, the airport was briefly seized by the Army of Yugoslavia in a standoff between the central government and the Montenegrin authorities after Montenegro tried to control the airport independently from Belgrade.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines serve scheduled and seasonal services to and from Podgorica Airport:

Statistics

Passengers

Busiest routes

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Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport ( sr, / ) or Belgrade Airport ( sr, / ) is an international airport serving Belgrade, Serbia. It is the largest and the busiest airport in Serbia, situated west of downtown Belgrade near the suburb of Su ...

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Atatürk Airport Atatürk Airport (former IATA code: IST) ( tr, Atatürk Havalimanı) is a general aviation airport in Istanbul. It used to be an intercontinental passenger and cargo hub and closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019 when all fli ...

, , style="text-align:right;", 130,837 , - , 3, , {{nowrap, {{flag, Austria, Schwechat Airport, , style="text-align:right;", 87,162 , - , 4, , {{nowrap, {{flag, Slovenia, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, , style="text-align:right;", 55,758 , - , 5, , {{nowrap, {{flag, Poland, Warsaw Chopin Airport, , style="text-align:right;", 51,687 , - , 6, , {{nowrap, {{flag, Italy,

Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport Rome–Fiumicino International Airport "Leonardo da Vinci" ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Roma–Fiumicino "Leonardo da Vinci"; ) is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome. It is the List of the busiest airports in Italy, ...

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ec.europa.eu

Ground transportation

{{Unreferenced section, date=March 2018 Podgorica Airport is accessible by the Podgorica -

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road ( E65/ E80), via a short detour. A stretch of this road, from Podgorica to the airport, has been upgraded to expressway standard. A drive from the city center to the airport usually takes less than 15 minutes. Public transportation to and from airport is covered by L-20 bus line to city center, charter bus lines to other Montenegrin cities, and taxi service. The ''Airport'' train station on the

Belgrade–Bar railway The Belgrade–Bar railway ( sr, Пруга Београд–Бар, Pruga Beograd–Bar) is a railway connecting the Serbian capital of Belgrade with the town of Bar, a major seaport in Montenegro. Overview The Belgrade–Bar railway is a stan ...

is located {{convert, 1.2, km, , sp=us away from the passenger terminal but is seldom used as a link to the city due to the inconvenient location and inconsistent train schedule. By using the Sozina tunnel, the airport is some {{Convert, 40, km, , sp=us away from Bar, Montenegro's main port,Structurae: Sozina Tunnel
/ref> and so the airport increasingly caters to the needs of cities along the southern Montenegrin coast.

Accidents and incidents

*On 11 September 1973, Podgorica Airport was the destination of JAT Airways Flight 769, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 6-N, which flew into the Babin Zub peak on

Maganik Maganik ( sr-cyrl, Маганик, ) is a mountain range in Central Montenegro. The highest point of Maganik is ''Međeđi Vrh'' ("Bear's summit"), which is high. Features Maganik is 20 km long and 10 km wide mountain range, located i ...

mountain north of Podgorica. All 41 on board perished.{{Citation needed, date=March 2018 *On 25 January 2005, the nosegear of a

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, ...

(YU-AOM) collapsed after a runway excursion during a night landing in snowy conditions. The airplane skidded for about {{Convert, 700, m, , sp=us before coming to rest, {{Convert, 1180, m, , sp=us after touchdown. Two passengers, the pilot and copilot received minor injuries.{{citation needed, date=March 2017 The airline was sued by passengers, as it was the only airline to operate flights to Podgorica that evening (other airlines canceled flights due to insufficient ice clearance technology at the airport).{{Citation needed, date=March 2017 *On 7 January 2008, at about 9:30pm, a

(4O-AOK) was shot at while landing at Podgorica Airport. A routine inspection of the aircraft led to the discovery of a bullet hole in the aircraft's tail. The aircraft was carrying 20 passengers, none of which were injured. The reason for the incident is unknown; however, reports indicate that it may have been an inadvertent result of guns being fired during celebrations for

Orthodox Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, i ...

.{{Citation needed, date=March 2017

References

{{reflist

External links

{{commons category-inline, Podgorica Airport * {{Official website, http://www.montenegroairports.com *{{GCM, LYPG, source=

DAFIF DAFIF () or the ''Digital Aeronautical Flight Information File'' is a comprehensive database of up-to-date aeronautical data, including information on airports, airways, airspaces, navigation data, and other facts relevant to flying in the entire w ...

*{{NWS-current, LYPG *{{ASN, TGD
Ground Transportation at AirportJump.com
{{Portal bar, Aviation {{Airports in Montenegro {{Podgorica {{authority control Airports in Montenegro Airports established in 1961 Transport in Podgorica 1961 establishments in Yugoslavia