Gomel Airport
Gomel Airport (IATA: GME, ICAO: UMGG) is an airport located 3 km north-east from Gomel, the second-largest city in Belarus. It was opened in 1968.
Gomel Airport Аэрапорт Гомель Аэропорт Гомель | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Serves | Gomel | ||||||||||
| Location | Gomel raion | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 472 ft / 144 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°31′37″N 31°01′00″E | ||||||||||
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  GME Location of airport in Belarus | |||||||||||
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History
Since the mid-1950s, regular flights to Minsk and Kiev from the old Gomel airport to remote regional centers of the region, and sanitary and agricultural aviation were also based here. In 1968, the current airport was built with a concrete runway, to which An-24 was the first to land.
Gomel airport was a hub of Gomelavia airline, which ceased operations on 22 February 2011 due to bankruptcy.
From 25 July 2011 Belarusian flag carrier, Belavia, started serving flights from Gomel to Kaliningrad during summer seasons once again.
Besides Belarusian air companies, Latvian flag carrier AirBaltic had served flights between Gomel and Riga in 2006, but this destination has been defunct ever since.
Gomel airport is now mainly used for charter flights to Italy, Belgium, Spain and some other Western European countries.
In summer 2014, because of local population's awareness about instability and ongoing war in Ukraine, Belavia started to carry out new charter flights from Gomel to Thessaloniki and Burgas. Flights to Kaliningrad since summer 2014 have a stopover at Minsk National Airport.[1]
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Gomel Airport was used by the Russian military for military purposes, including launching air strikes against Ukraine, as evidenced by a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defence.[2]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Belavia | Moscow–Vnukovo (begins 29 October 2023)[3] |
Ground transport
Suburban bus route from airport to Gomel central bus station goes once a day in both directions
References
- Инанец, Снежана (13 June 2014). "Выйти из штопора. История о том, как возрождается гомельский аэропорт". TUT.BY (in Russian). ООО «ТУТ БАЙ МЕДИА». Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Для бомбежек Украины россияне используют гражданский аэропорт Гомеля". reform.by (in Russian). 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- "Belavia Adds Gomel – Moscow Service From late-Oct 2023". AeroRoutes. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
External links
Media related to Homel Airport at Wikimedia Commons