Skonhed International Airport

Skonhed International Airport or Skonhed Internationale Lufthavn (IAOC:SIA; OCAA: SIL) is the international airport serving the Overseas Territory of Hedbjerg and one of the main airports serving the Oslanburgan territories in the southern Ostara sea, with the other being in Isle Vikaris. In 1569, it was the thirteenth busiest airport in Oslanburg and handled 1,256,645 passengers. It serves flights to most regional destinations and regular, year-round flights to Herlev, as well as seasonal flights to cities in Brigidna and Kvaenna, and can accommodate all but the largest wide-body airliners, up to SL440.

It is named after Sir Rumal Skonhed, the Oslanburgan explorer who first landed on the island in 1068, and establishing Oslanburg's first colonies in the area. There is also an The airport serves as a hub for South Ostaran Air Transport (SOAT) and is the major gateway for the smaller islands in the southern Ostaran sea, including Rolihav, Rusos, Saint-Aartin and South Alden.

History

In 1495, a small airstrip was built in Skonhed, near the southeastern end of the present runway. For years, periodic services were offered by Commonwealth Airways from their Somerset base, while the only flights to Oslanburg were on the Skonhed–Hérault–Surat–Telos–Halvadag–Herlev route, flown by the seaplanes of Luft Wurberg and its predecessor. The line was later truncated to terminate in the north at Telos where it connected to Luft Wurberg Skathian airplane services.

In 1498, the Oslanburg government, which had incorporated Hedbjerg as an integral territory the year before, decided to construct a more permanent airport. At the insistence of Luft Wurberg's President, it was built from the start with a 2000 metre asphalt runway, enough for a fully loaded SL340 then the main long-haul type used by Luft Wurberg, to take off.

The new airport opened Skonhed International Airport in 1503, and Luft Wurberg quickly inaugurated flights from Herlev, replacing the truncated seaplane route and requiring only a single stopover in Telos, linking Hedbjerg by air with Skathia. From the mid 1510s, it was also a stopover point for Luft Wurberg's early long-haul jets, the SL410, with non-stop flights between Herlev and Hedbjerg beginning in 1515.

In 1521, then Crown Princess Johanna visited Hedbjerg, the first Oslanburgan royal to do so, and the next year the airport's name was changed to Princess Johanna International to commemorate this visit, though this was reverted one year later following protest from local citizens. The 1520s saw increasing numbers of tourists passing through the airport, and in 1526 a 785 metre extension was added to the runway to allow newer wide-body jets to take off.

However, the introduction of larger, longer-ranged wide-bodies like the SL440 also meant it was now possible to fly non-stop from Oslanburg to southeastern Ostara ending the airport's importance as a stopover point. However, traffic has continued to grow at the airport through the 1530s, 1540s, and 1560s as Hedbjerg continues to be a popular destination for tourists.

The airport was, for most of it's history, owned and operated by the Oslanburgan government through the Ministry for Transportation. Though in 1554, was privatized becoming apart of SEport Holdings, a public/private special purpose entity with ownership comprised 50% the territorial government, 34% Curban Finance, and 16% other investors.

Facilities

Terminal

The four-story terminal building offers 29,000 square metres (312,153 sq ft) of floor space and is fully air-conditioned. Available facilities include 52 check-in desks, eleven transit desks and fifteen boarding gates. There are twenty immigration booths for arriving passengers and ten exit-control booths for departing passengers. The terminal has ten gates, five of which are equipped with jetways, and is designed to handle around 1,650,000 passengers annually at maximum capacity. There are several shops and eateries within the terminal building.

Runways

The single runway at the airport is 2,650 metres (8694.22 feet), oriented 05/23, and has an asphalt surface. Due to the fairly short length of the runway, tricky "L-bend" approach over the mountains, and proximity to the water and the town, it is considered one of the more difficult and dangerous airports in Siora to land at, especially flying the large jets that frequent it during the peak vacation months during the northern hemisphere winter.

Direction/name	Length in m / ft	Surface	Arrangement	Start of operation	Use
05/23 (Runway South)	2,650 × 45 / 8694 × 148	Asphalt	North-South	1503	Take-offs and landings