Ohrid "St. Paul the Apostle" Airport

Ohrid Airport Аеродром Охрид Aerodrom Ohrid
IATA: OHD – ICAO: LWOH OHD Location of airport in Macedonia
Summary
Airport type	Civil
Owner/Operator	TAV Airports
Serves	Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia
Location	Orovnik, Debarca Municipality
Elevation AMSL	2,313 ft / 705 m
Coordinates	41°10′48″N 020°44′32″E / 41.18000°N 20.74222°E
Website	ohd.airports.com.mk
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 02/20 8,366 2,550 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 107,916 Passenger change 14–15 54.2%

Ohrid Airport^[1] (IATA: OHD, ICAO: LWOH) (Macedonian: Аеродром Охрид, Aerodrom Ohrid), or Ohrid "St. Paul the Apostle" Airport^[2] (Macedonian: Аеродром „Св. Апостол Павле“ Охрид, Aerodrom "Sv. Apostol Pavle" Ohrid), is an airport in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia. The airport is located 9 km (6 mi) northwest from Ohrid. The main purpose of St. Paul the Apostle Airport is to serve as a second airport in Macedonia and alternative to Alexander the Great Airport at Skopje and cater to flights bringing in tourists destined for Ohrid.

History

The last runway reconstruction was performed in 2004, when a lighting system, a first category with simple approach lights, was installed. Other features enable takeoff, landing and maneuvering with different types of aircraft.^[3]

In 2008 the Macedonian government signed a contract with the Turkish company Tepe Akfen Ventures (TAV) for a twenty-year-long concession during which this company would manage Macedonia's two existing airports in Ohrid and Skopje. The planned works include the construction of a new airport terminal building in Skopje, extension of the runway, new administration building, and new access road with parking facilities increasing the capacity of Skopje Airport to four million passengers per year with plans to turn Skopje Airport into a major transit and cargo hub for the Balkans. Ohrid airport will have its terminal building and VIP sections modernized. The concession contract also includes the construction of a third airport intended for cargo transport near the eastern Macedonian town of Štip which eventually would be transformed into Macedonia’s main airport. The total amount of the foreseen investment is 200 million Euros with 30 to 40 million Euros total concession payments to the Macedonian Government over the 20-year concession period. Tepe Akfen Ventures Airport Holding is one of the world's fastest expanding airport operators currently managing the Turkish airports of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya along with Tbilisi in Georgia, and Monastir in Tunisia. TAV is also bidding to take over the management of Ruzyně International Airport and Riga International Airport.^[4]

Facilities

In this airport can be operational from small aircraft to medium-large aircraft. The apron can accommodate up to 9 aircraft and the terminal is equipped to handle up to 400 000 passengers annually. Among other concessions the terminal building encompasses an information desk, a restaurant, a duty-free shop, and a VIP lounge.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Serbia	Seasonal: Belgrade (begins 15 June 2016)[5]
Arkia Israel Airlines	Seasonal: Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion (begins 9 June 2016) [6]
Corendon Dutch Airlines	Seasonal charter: Amsterdam
Helvetic Airways	Zürich
Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium	Seasonal charter: Brussels (begins 20 June 2016)[7]
TUI Airlines Netherlands	Seasonal: Amsterdam
Wizz Air	Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg Seasonal: London–Luton

Statistics

The number of passengers at the airport is shown in the next table:

Traffic figures at Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport

Year	Passengers	Change
1990	67,811
1991	60,440	10,9%
1992	34,344	43,2%
1993	48,022	39,8%
1994	18,681	61,1%
1995	39,270	110,2%
1996	104,229	165,4%
1997	42,544	59,2%
1998	55,417	30,3%
1999	74,497	34,4%
2000	65,941	11,5%
2001	53,954	18,2%
2002	60,209	11,6%
2003	51,082	15,5%
2004	32,309	36,8%
2005	53,901	66,8%
2006	50,336	6,6%
2007	45,515	9,6%
2008	44,413	2,4%
2009	33,873	23,7%
2010	14,095	58,4%
2011	78,246	455,1%
2012	84,736	8,3%
2013	83,060	2,0%
2014	69,984	15,7%
2015	107,916	54,2%
2016 (01.01-31.03)	11,903	161,1%

Ground transportation

There is a new bus service linking the airport and the city port of Ohrid. Buses operate twice weekly (Wednesdays and Sundays) and are scheduled according to the Wizzair flights to/from Basel and London-Luton.

Incidents and accidents

• On 20 November 1993 Avioimpex Flight 110, a Yak 42D crashed near the airport.^[8] The aircraft was on a flight from Geneva, Switzerland to Skopje, but had been diverted to Ohrid due to poor weather conditions.^[9] All eight crewmembers and 116 passengers died as a result of the accident.^[10] 115 died at the scene, the final victim died from injuries in hospital eleven days later.^[11]

References

1. Airport information for LWOH at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
2. Name as used at the official site
3. CAA - Civil Aviation Administration of the Republic of Macedonia
4. Turkey's TAV signs deal for Macedonian airports
5. http://www.exyuaviation.com/p/air-serbia-belgrade-ohrid.html
6. http://a1on.mk/wordpress/archives/539268
7. http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/28035/45/
8. Fatal Events with a Sole Survivor
9. ASN Aircraft accident Yakovlev 42D RA-42390 Ohrid:
10. One survives crash; 115 die
11. Crash survivor dies

External links

• Macedonian Airports Homepage
• Accident history for OHD at Aviation Safety Network
• Airport information for LWOH at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for LWOH at NOAA/NWS
• Airport information for LWOH at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.