Soekarno-Hatta Airport

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Internasional Soekarno-Hatta) (IATA: CGK, ICAO: WIII) is the main airport serving the greater Jakarta area on the island of Java, Indonesia. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. The airport is often called Cengkareng by Indonesian. Its IATA code, CGK is originated from the word Cengkareng, a subdistrict located to the northwest of the city.

Located about 20 km west of Jakarta, in Tangerang Regency, Banten, Soekarno-Hatta airport began to operate in 1985, replacing the former Kemayoran Airport (domestic flights) in Central Jakarta, and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in East Jakarta. Kemayoran Airport had since closed. Halim Perdanakusuma is still operating, serving mostly charters and military flights. Terminal 2 was opened in 1992.

The land area of the airport is 18 km². It has two independent parallel runways separated 2,400 m connected by two cross taxiways. There are two main terminal buildings: Terminal 1 is for all domestic airlines except for flights operated by Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara Airlines, and Terminal 2 serves all international flights as well as all domestic flights by Garuda and Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

Each terminal building is separated into 3 concourses. Terminal 1A, 1B, and 1C are used for (mostly) domestic flights by Indonesian airlines. Terminal 1A served flights by Lion Air, Wings Air and Indonesia AirAsia.

Terminal 2D and 2E are used to serve all international flights by international airlines. Terminal 2D are for all international airlines served by PT Jasa Angkasa Semesta, one of the ground handlers in the airport. Terminal 2E are for all international airlines served by Garuda, including all international flights of Garuda Merpati. Terminal 2F are for Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Nusantara Airlines domestic flights.

The airport was designed by Paul Andreu, a French architect who also designed Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. One of the major characteristics of Soekarno-Hatta airport is the incorporation of the local vernacular architecture into the design, and the presence of tropical gardens in between the waiting lounges. However, due to poor maintenance, its not too strategic location, and lack of budget, the airport is inferior to many international airports in the region. However, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was noted for its beautiful landscaping: the airport was awarded the 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has 150 check-in counters, 30 baggage carousels and 42 gates. Each sub-terminal has 25 check-in counters, 5 baggage carrousels and 7 gates.

Angkasa Pura II is currently planning to build a new terminal with modern design features. Terminal 3 is being built for low-cost airlines, and already serves hajj flights and transnational migrant laborers. There is a masterplan to make 5 passenger terminals + 1 hajj terminal and 4 runways. In 2009 the airport will be connected to Manggarai Station (future Jakarta central station) by a railway. To finance the expansion, the airport is collecting an Airport Improvement Fee of IDR 100,000 ($9 USD/8 Euro) for each international passenger and IDR 30,000 for each domestic passenger.

In May 2008, ForbesTraveller.com recognized Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as the 6th most punctual airport in the world with 86.3% of its flights departing on time, while 72.3% arriving ontime.

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was the 35th busiest airport in 2005/6.

History

Between 1928–1974, the Kemayoran Airfield intended for domestic flights was considered too close to an Indonesian military airfield, Halim Perdanakusuma. The civil airspace in the area became narrow, while air traffic increased rapidly, which risked international air traffic. In 1969, a Senior Communication Officers meeting in Bangkok expressed this concern.

In the early 1970s, with the help of USAID, eight potential locations were analyzed for a new international airport, namely Kemayoran, Malaka, Babakan, Jonggol, Halim, Curug, South Tangerang and North Tangerang. Finally, the North Tangerang airspace was chosen and it was also noted that Jonggol could be used as an alternative airfield. Meanwhile the Indonesian government started to upgrade the Halim Perdanakusumah airfield to be used for domestic flights.

Between 1974–1975, a Canadian consultant consortium consisting of Aviation Planning Services Ltd., ACRESS International Ltd., and Searle Wilbee Rowland (SWR), won a bid for the new airport feasibility project. The feasibility study started on 20 February 1974 with a total cost of 1 million Canadian Dollars. The one-year project proceed with an Indonesian partner represented by PT Konavi. By the end of March 1975, the study revealed a plan to build three inline runways, a perforated road, three international terminal buildings, three domestic buildings and one building for Hajj flights. Three stores for the domestic terminals would be built between 1975–1981 with a cost of US$ 465 million and one domestic terminal including an apron from 1982–1985 with a cost of US$ 126 million. A new terminal project, named the Jakarta International Airport Cengkareng (code: JIA-C), began.

Ground Transportation

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport provides a shuttle bus which connects Terminal 1 and 2. CGK also provides parking lots however passengers should be noted that these parking lots are often over capacity.

Depending on traffic, Soekarno-Hatta is a 30 minute drive from Jakarta's city center. Currently a DAMRI Shuttle Bus route links CGK to Rawamangun, Blok M/Kebayoran, Gambir, Bekasi, Depok and Bogor. Taxis are provided and is about 30 to 45 minutes into center city Jakarta. Car rental is provided by Avis, Bluebird, Goldenbird and Europcar.

PT RaiLink, subsidiary of PT KA plans to connect Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Manggarai station by train service. The elevated train service construction started in March 2008 and finished in June 2009.

It is strongly recommended that you allow at least one hour to get to the airport from central Jakarta. If you are leaving the city after 4pm on any day, but especially a Friday, allow 90 minutes. Arriving into Jakarta from other cities you should plan to arrive after 9am so that you miss the heavy traffic. Morning commute from airport to the city can be as much as 2 to 3 hours depending on rain, inundation, incidents, roadworks or the toll operators randomly changing the payment methods or on/off ramp configurations. Furthermore, there is only one toll road servicing the airport, and as such you could miss your flight or be unavoidably delayed if not taking all these things into consideration.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soekarno-Hatta_International_Airport

Congonhas Airport

Congonhas/São Paulo International Airport or Congonhas Airport (IATA: CGH, ICAO: SBSP) is one of São Paulo's three commercial airports, situated 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the city downtown at Washington Luís Avenue, in Campo Belo district. It is owned by the City of São Paulo and managed by Infraero. In 2007, it was the busiest airport in Brazil in terms of aircraft movements and the second busiest in terms of passengers, handling 205,130 aircraft movements and 15,244,401 passengers.

History

The airport's name came from a plant that used to be common in the area where the airport was built. The airport was initially planned in 1919, but it did not open until September 12, 1936. By 1957, the airport was the third busiest in the world for cargo and freight. The passenger terminal's central hall is considered one of the most outstanding examples of modern architecture in São Paulo. However, modernizing and enlargement works conducted at the terminal from 2003 onwards, while trying to preserve the look of the older, historic section, still made the latter lose much of its former character.

Congonhas Airport is the main hub of Brazil's largest airlines: TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas), Gol Transportes Aéreos and Varig.

Importance to the city

Congonhas was São Paulo's main airport until 1985, when São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport was built because of congestion at Congonhas and because the latter's short runways could not handle the large aircraft required for long-haul flights.

In spite of that, Congonhas Airport continues to be important to the city for regional and short-distance domestic flights. Given the concentration of Brazil's economy in the Central-Southern region, where São Paulo is located, such flights make up the greatest share of the country's domestic air traffic. Therefore, even after Guarulhos International Airport was opened, Congonhas continued to face congestion problems (and still does), regarding both the number of passengers and the number of flight operations. In spite of continuing modernization works, it is a small and outdated airport for today's standards, and its relatively short runways cannot be extended because of the sheer urban growth of São Paulo, which has completely surrounded and engulfed the airport.

Indeed, the view from the landing approach to Congonhas can be spectacular, with the airplane flying very low over massive clusters of tall skyscrapers, especially when the plane approaches from the north. It is the short distance from downtown and from the major business areas of Paulista, Faria Lima and Luís Carlos Berrini avenues that still makes Congonhas a favorite of passengers, especially business travelers, much in the same way as Ronald Reagan National Airport next to Washington, D.C. and LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Former international operations

The airport still keeps the "International" designation in its official name, and until the 1980s it did operate direct international flights to neighbouring countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, as well as intercontinental flights through connections at Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport. However, since the opening of Guarulhos Airport, international flights are no longer operated (or even allowed) at Congonhas.

With a much longer runway and better weather conditions, Viracopos International Airport was the main international airport serving São Paulo until 1985, but its very distant location in Campinas, 100 km (62 miles) from downtown São Paulo, made it very inconvenient for passengers and airlines - so much that most international passengers preferred to board instead a flight from Congonhas Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão (or vice versa), connecting with their international flights there. At that time, Viracopos even appeared on the Guinness Book of Records as the farthest airport from the city it allegedly served (a dubious title that now probably rests with Gonggar Airport, which lies at about the same distance from Lhasa, Tibet).

Today, Guarulhos Airport handles all international passenger traffic to and from São Paulo, but Viracopos remains the second busiest Brazilian airport for cargo operations, both domestic and international. It also has some domestic passenger traffic, catering to the local market of the prosperous Campinas region.

Safety concerns

The airport has been troubled by slippery runways and has had several accidents where water accumulation has been a significant factor (most notably, the one involving TAM Brazilian Airlines Flight 3054 in July 2007). Although the main runway was repaved in June 2007, its new rainwater drainage grooves were only finished in September 2007. The approach path over densely populated areas causes noise and raises further safety concerns.

The largest aircraft now operating at Congonhas are the Boeing 737-800 (Gol and Varig) and the Airbus A320 (TAM). However, in the past the airport used to have operations with Boeing 767 and Airbus A300 wide-body aircraft, by the now-defunct airlines Transbrasil, VASP and Cruzeiro.

In consequence of the TAM 3054 accident, and with the subsequent public outcry for more safety, the airport has had its operations significantly altered, through the reduction of landing slots and restrictions on flight distance and connections. This has reduced the maximum allowable gross weight of landing aircraft, increasing safety margins. To compensate for the traffic, there are talks of a third commercial airport to be built in a yet-undecided location in São Paulo, but experts heard by the Brazilian press say that the actual construction of such an airport is unlikely, and that an enlargement of Guarulhos Airport, coupled with improvement in the access to that farther airport, is much more likely and feasible.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congonhas_International_Airport

Incheon Airport

Incheon International Airport (IIA) (IATA: ICN, ICAO: RKSI) (Korean: 인천국제공항) is the largest airport in South Korea, and one of the largest and busiest in Asia. Rated as the best airport in the world, it received the full 5-star ranking by Skytrax, the prestigious recognition shared only by Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport.

Located 30 minutes away from Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea, Incheon International Airport is the main hub for Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Polar Air Cargo. Additionally, Incheon Tiger Airways the start up Korean subsidiary of Tiger Airways based in Singapore is seeking to base itself at Incheon International Airport.

The airport opened for business in early 2001, replacing the international function of the old Gimpo (formerly Kimpo International) Airport. Gimpo International Airport now serves only domestic destinations, except shuttle flights to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Japan and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, China.

The airport serves as a hub for international civilian air transportation and cargo traffic in East Asia. Security facilities are state-of-the-art and medical inspection equipment is also very advanced, in response to terrorist threats and various epidemics in southern Asia. As a result, Incheon International Airport is considered Asia's most technologically facilitated airport.

Incheon International Airport is also currently Asia's sixth busiest airport in terms of passengers, the world's fifth busiest airport in terms of cargo and freight, and the world's eleventh busiest airport in terms of international passengers.

Overview

Incheon International Airport is located west of Incheon, on Yeongjong-Yongyu Island on the West Coast. In the past, there were two separate islands of Yeongjong and Yongyu but the distance between them that were once covered by the sea got filled to form one island from two. Both of these islands were part of the city of Incheon.

It is connected to the mainland by Incheon International Airport Expressway (Expressway 130), a part of which is Yeongjong Bridge. The expressway also connects Gimpo Airport and provide connections between domestic flight service with international air traffic, an advantage that makes it far easier to travel from southern Korean regions to Incheon, and then to airports all over the globe. The airport is served by frequent bus service from all parts of South Korea as well as by traditional ferry service between Yeongjong pier and Incheon. Airport limousines operate around the clock from Seoul to Incheon, and several backup highway buses escort people from places within and outside Seoul.

The Incheon International Airport Railroad link to Gimpo International Airport (and Seoul Subway Line 5) opened on March 23, 2007, with a further extension to Seoul Station due for completion by January 2010.

The airport was awarded the "Best in Service Award in Class" at the 1st International Conference on Airport Quality and Service by the IATA and the ACI, and ranked second in "Best Airport Worldwide", behind Hong Kong International Airport, and ahead of Singapore Changi Airport. It was also ranked No. 1 in the world by the Airports Council International.

History

After the Seoul Olympics of 1988, international air traffic to Korea was increasing at a tremendous rate. Especially as time progressed into the 90's, it became apparent that Gimpo International Airport could not keep up with the increase in air traffic. As such, in order to reduce the load on Gimpo International Airport, and establish a new airport which could become the center of air traffic in the region, construction of the airport began in November 1992. The airport was constructed on reclaimed land between Yeongjong Island and Youngyu Island. It took eight years to construct the airport, and an additional six months to test operate. The airport was officially opened in March 2001. The airport was designed to be constructed in multiple stages, more commonly known as phases. Currently, the airport is in the first phase, with the second phase construction progressing.

When the airport was first opened, there were numerous problems that broke out, most of them having to do with the baggage handling systems. In fact, the problem was first discovered during the test phase, but was never worked out in time. As a result, for a month after the airport opened, the system had to be operated on a semi-automatic mode. Nevertheless, most of the problems were worked out within a month, and the airport continued to operate normally, exceeding all expectations.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the airport’s security system was upgraded to state of the art systems, and medical inspection equipment was also upgraded in response to the various epidemics occurring in neighboring countries. In addition, following the advice of ICAO on upgrading various facilities as well as independently pursuing airport enhancements have caused the airport to be recognized as the most technologically advanced airport in Asia.

Due to the positive response towards the airport, its air traffic increased tremendously. By early 2002, it became apparent that the airport would be saturated by 2006. As a result, in February 2002, the construction of the second phase was initiated. Originally, the construction were supposed to have ended by December 2008. However, due to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the construction schedule was modified to allow the construction to end by July 2008.

On November 15, 2006, the Airbus A380 landed at the airport as part of the first leg of its certification trip. During the visit, the airport observed the operation of other air traffic especially during ground operations. In addition, the plane was docked into one of its boarding gates to ensure that the aircraft was fully compatible with the airport. The results were satisfactory, confirming that the airport would be fully Airbus A380 capable, from the runways to the taxiways, and up to every single boarding dock.

To further upgrade service, Incheon and major Korean logistics firm Hanjin Corporation (parent company of the Korean Flag Carrier, Korean Air) have signed a contract on 10 January 2008 to build a nine-story hospital near the airport. Once construction is complete in 2011, the Yeongjong Medical Center is expected to serve nearby residents and 30,000 domestic and international tourists who visit Korea every year to receive medical services.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incheon_International_Airport

Biggin Hill Airport

London Biggin Hill Airport, long associated with its key role in WW2, is now much more famous with business aviation fliers as the most convenient and efficient way of accessing London.

Situated just 12 miles from the heart of the capital, passengers can reach their final destination easily and quickly by road or by helicopter transfer to Battersea Heliport.

The airport handles a wide variety of aircraft – from the smallest single-engined private Piper up to jets of various sizes including Gulfstream, Embraer, Boeing, Cessna and Bombardier.

London Biggin Hill is dedicated to business aviation operators, their executive clients and aircrew. This is the core business of the airport. It also scores highly with owners and operators who value the location and range of owners’ facilities available.

Maintenance facilities are excellent and the comprehensive fuel services are competitively priced. Secure hangarage is available - and opening hours are convenient and practical.

Click on the buttons above to find out all you need to know. You will soon see why so many informed businesses and individuals make Biggin Hill first choice as their London aviation base.

History

Over the past 40 years, this famous Airport has steadily changed from being a busy RAF base into a commercial regional airport. The historic ties are remembered annually at the international Biggin Hill Air Show. A summary of the history since it opened in 1917 as a communications base is as follows:-

1920s Commenced flying.

1930s Existing north-east south-west runway opened.

1940s Battle of Britain air station with Spitfires and Hurricanes.

1950s Front line RAF Station with squadrons of jet fighters.

1960s Following closure of Croydon Airport, started as a civil airport with HM Immigration and Customs Port of Entry, with light aircraft training and some commercial passenger and cargo flights.

1970s Acquired by Bromley Council from the RAF for £480,000 in total (£3,342,000 at today’s prices) with a commitment to remain open as an airport. Light aircraft, flying training and commercial passenger and cargo flights increased.

1980s Operated by the Council as a civil airport with up to 200,000 light aircraft flights per annum. Commercial, scheduled and/or charter passenger flights permitted.

1988 The Council introduced Airports UK, an airport management company, in a bid to increase revenues, but under a legal clause in their agreement, the Council banned them from permitting scheduled passenger flights altogether. Charter flights were still permitted and members of the public still had the freedom to buy tickets to fly on them.

1990s With financial pressure to invest more and more ratepayers’ money to meet repairs and operating costs, the Council reversed its decision on scheduled flights in 1991 and actively supported new passenger services. The first regular flights on which the public could buy tickets were to Carlisle and Le Touquet, with services to Manchester, Paris and many other cities planned.

1994 Unfortunately the measures to increase regular public transport flights did not resolve the financial difficulties of the Airport quickly.

The Council was then prevented by Government policy from spending more ratepayers’ money on repairs, equipment and running costs, so it sold the Airport business ‘as a going concern’ to London Biggin Hill Airport Limited (BHAL). The Airfield was leased for 125 years, on condition that all future costs and repairs would be borne by BHAL, with rent and a share of the profits going to the Council each year.


Source: http://www.bigginhillairport.com