Ganja International Airport
Ganja International Airport (Azerbaijani: Gəncə Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı) (IATA: GNJ, ICAO: UBBG) is an airport serving Ganja[1] (also known as Gyandzha[2]), the second-largest city in Azerbaijan.
Ganja International Airport Gəncə Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Azerbaijan | ||||||||||
| Operator | Government | ||||||||||
| Serves | Ganja | ||||||||||
| Location | Ganja, Azerbaijan | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,083 ft / 330 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°44′16″N 046°19′03″E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  GNJ/UBBG Location of airport in Ganja, Azerbaijan  GNJ/UBBG GNJ/UBBG (West and Central Asia)  GNJ/UBBG GNJ/UBBG (Asia)  GNJ/UBBG GNJ/UBBG (Europe) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Source: ACI's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report. | |||||||||||
It was previously used by the Soviet Air Force. In 1996 the airport received the status of an international airport and since then is used for civil aviation purposes.[3]
In August 2021 IATA announced a newly assigned code of “GNJ”, which will reflect the city's new name. The former code of “KVD” refers to the old toponym, Kirovabad.[4]
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Arayik Harutyunyan, president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, on 4 October 2020 stated that the Artsakh Defense Army had hit Ganja's military airport, however, Azerbaijan said no military sites were hit.[5] Reporters of Russian channel TV Rain reported that the airport had not been hit and that the airport had been closed since March due to coronavirus. Missiles hit residential buildings in the city, killing 1 person and wounding 32.[6]
On September 29, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia stated that a Turkish Air Force F-16 Viper shot down an Armenian Su-25 flying inside Armenian airspace, killing the pilot—also stating that Turkish F-16 jets had taken off earlier from Ganja airport and were assisting Azerbaijani forces in missile strikes against border regions near Vardenis in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.[7] [8] In response to the Armenian claim, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, stated that "Azerbaijan doesn't have F-16s – there aren't any on our soil or in our airspace". He claimed in turn that the aforementioned Su-25 as well as another Armenian Su-25 had crashed in the air while flying towards Azerbaijan. [9]
A week later on October 7, satellite imagery was published by the New York Times Visual Investigations Team confirming the presence of two F-16 Vipers at the airport.[10] Following the publication of the satellite imagery, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev conceded the official position regarding the F-16s' presence and that they had arrived to the country during military exercises prior to the war, but claimed they were not participating in combat.[11][12]
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of 1,083 feet (330 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 12/30 with an asphalt/concrete surface measuring 3,300 by 44 metres (10,827 ft × 144 ft).[13]
Airlines and destinations
Statistics
| Passengers | Change from previous year | Aircraft operations | Change from previous year | Cargo (metric tons) | Change from previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 259,451 | N.D. | 2,814 | N.D. | 917 | N.D. |
| 2013 | 345,055 |  32.99% | 3,052 | 8.46% | 883 |  3.71% |
| 2014 | 329,156 | 4.61% | 3,060 | 0.26% | 721 | 18.35% |
| Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Reports (Years 2012,[15] 2013,[16] and 2014[17]) | ||||||
References
- Airport information for UBBG from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- Airport information for KVD at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- "Gəncə Hava Limanı". Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "Ganja Airport In Azerbaijan Secures New IATA Code - Travel Radar". Travel Radar - Aviation News. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- "Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Major cities hit as heavy fighting continues". BBC News. 4 October 2020.
- Телеканал Дождь. Карабах заявил об уничтожении аэропорта Гянджи. Директор аэропорта это отрицает
- "Armenian SU-25 jet shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- "Turkey's F-16 fighter downs Armenia's Su-25 from Azerbaijani territory — Yerevan". TASS. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- Tavberidze, Tim Ogden & Vazha (7 October 2020). "Exclusive interview: Azerbaijan's view of the Armenian conflict | The Spectator". www.spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- Trevithick, Joseph (7 October 2020). "Satellite Images Confirm Turkish F-16 Fighters Secretly Deployed To Azerbaijan". The War Zone.
- "Ilham Aliyev explains arrival of Turkish F-16s in Azerbaijan". 9 October 2020.
- Kramer, Andrew E. (29 January 2021). "Armenia and Azerbaijan: What Sparked War and Will Peace Prevail?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- charts.aero – Airport Charts for UBBG/KVD Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- "İstanbul-Gence seferlerimiz satışa açılmıştır". Pegasus Airlines (in Turkish). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- Airport Council International's 2012 World Airport Traffic Report
- Airport Council International's 2013 World Airport Traffic Report
- Airport Council International Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report