NEW BELGRADE AIRPORT

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29010, 26 September 1959, Page 10

NEW BELGRADE AIRPORT

Important Link For Traffic BELGRADE The Government is speeding up work on a new international airport planned as one of the most important links in air traffic between Western Europe and the Middle East and Asia. Some 6,000,000,000 dinars (about £7,150,000 sterling) will be spent by the end of 1961 on the construction of the airport on the Sava river plain, 18 kilometres (about 12 miles) from Belgrade. The existing Belgrade airport, which now serves both international and foreign traffic, is not able to handle big jet aircraft. The new airport will be able to take all civil aircraft now in use up to 135 tons, including the giant Soviet TU-114 and the American Boeing 707. The airport, with. a runway 2650 metres (about 2900 yards) long and 60 metres (about 66 yards) wide, will have the most modern landing equipment. Powerful lights on the runway visible from a distance of 30-40 kilometres (about 20-27 miles) will make night flying possible for the first time in Yugoslavia. The airport will be able to handle 40 aircraft an hour. If traffic becomes heavier, another runway may be built. Main work started in 1958 and •this year half of the runway will be completed. Machinery from Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States and West Germany is being used to lay down 30-35 centimetres (about 12-14 inches) of concrete to cover the runway.

The engineers supervising the building work were specially sent to France and Switzerland for training. A group of architects, mostly women, went to France to study the lay-out of modern passenger facilities.— Reuter.