Geçitkale Air Base | |||||||||||
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Elevation AMSL | 143 ft / 44 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 35°14′00″N 33°43′58″E / 35.23333°N 33.73278°ECoordinates: 35°14′00″N 33°43′58″E / 35.23333°N 33.73278°E | ||||||||||
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Geçitkale Air Base or Lefkoniko Airport (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. Geçitkale's unofficial ICAO code is LCGK.
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. Combat aircraft last visited the airport in November 2000.
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.