Geçitkale Air Base

Geçitkale Air Base or Lefkoniko Airport[3] (IATA: GEC, ICAO: LCGK) is a military airfield of the Turkish Air Force near Lefkoniko (Turkish: Geçitkale) in Northern Cyprus. Construction was completed around 1990. During the renovation of the Ercan International Airport between September 2002 and May 2004, it served as Northern Cyprus' primary civilian airport.[4] Geçitkale's unofficial ICAO code is LCGK.[5]

Geçitkale Air Base
Summary
Elevation AMSL143 ft / 44 m
Coordinates35°14′00″N 33°43′58″E
Map
GEC
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 9,350 2,850 Composite

In the summer of 1998, amid rising tensions between Greece and Turkey, Turkey briefly stationed six F-16s at Geçitkale, in response to the former's positioning of four F-16s and two Lockheed C-130 Hercules at Paphos.[6] Combat aircraft last visited the airport in November 2000.[7] Gecit Kale Airbase was bought by Turkish Cypriot Businessman Asil Nadir and will be transformed into a new airport for VIP and Charter Aircraft.

Aerodrome characteristics

Geçitkale's only runway, 9/27, measures 2,850 m (9,350 ft) in length and 45 m (148 ft) wide. In addition, there is a 285 m (935 ft) long stopway on either end. The airport is equipped with a VOR/DME and an NDB station.[5]

Base for unmanned aerial vehicles

Geçitkale Air Base was assigned by a decision of the government of Northern Cyprus to the Cyprus Turkish Peace Force Command for use by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations.[8]

Firstly, three-truck load of ground control unit was installed at the air base.[9] In the morning hours of 16 December 2019, a military UAV of type Bayraktar TB2 landed at the air base coming from Turkey. The UAVs are intended to provide protection to the Turkish vessels operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea for oil and gas exploration and deepwater drilling for petroleum and natural gas.[8]

References
  1. "Airline and Airport Code Search". IATA. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. "LCGK - Gecitkale/Gazimagosa International Airport". Skyvector.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. "Nadir wins Lefkoniko airport contract". Cyprus Mail. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  4. "Ercan Havaalanı 10 Mayıs'ta açılıyo" (in Turkish). Hürriyet. 6 May 2004. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  5. "AD 2 – Gecitkale" (PDF). TRNC AIP. 2 September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  6. Clogg, Richard (2013). A Concise History of Greece (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 229.
  7. "Geçitkale". Abandoned, Forgotten & Little-Known Airfields in Europe. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  8. "Geçitkale'ye gelen İHA Rum basınında". genç TV (in Turkish). 17 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  9. "Turkey deploys unmanned aerial vehicles to Turkish Cyprus". Hürriyet Daily news. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
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