Batticaloa Airport SLAF Batticaloa மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம் මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ |
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
Owner | Government of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Operator | Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Serves | Batticaloa | ||||||||||
Location | Thimilathiu, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
Opened | 1958 | ||||||||||
Commander | G. S. N. Priyadarshana | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 10 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 07°42′19″N 081°40′40″E / 7.70528°N 81.67778°ECoordinates: 07°42′19″N 081°40′40″E / 7.70528°N 81.67778°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Location of airport in Sri Lanka | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Batticaloa Airport (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்பு விமான நிலையம், Sinhalese: මඩකලපුව ගුවන්තොටුපළ, IATA: BTC, ICAO: VCCB) is a domestic airport on the island of Thimilathiu in eastern Sri Lanka. It is also a military airbase known as Sri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa or SLAF Batticaloa.
The facility is located 0.94 nautical miles (1.7 km) southwest of the town of Batticaloa. It resides at an elevation of 3 metres (10 ft) and has one runway designated 06/24 with a bitumen surface measuring 1,066 by 46 metres (3,497 ft × 151 ft).
Batticaloa Airport was originally opened in November 1958 but was later closed down. On 27 March 1983 an air force base was opened on the site. In 1985 around 3,000 people forcibly evicted from their homes in order to extend the base. Construction of a domestic airport at the base began in September 2012.