Gostomel Airport
| Antonov Airport Аеропорт «Антонов» | |||||||||||
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| IATA: GML – ICAO: UKKM | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Civil government | ||||||||||
| Operator | Antonov Airlines | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 517 ft / 158 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°36′13″N 030°11′31″E / 50.60361°N 30.19194°ECoordinates: 50°36′13″N 030°11′31″E / 50.60361°N 30.19194°E | ||||||||||
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  GML Location of the airport in Ukraine | |||||||||||
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Antonov Airport (IATA: GML, ICAO: UKKM) (Ukrainian: аеропорт „Антонов” [aeroˈport anˈtonof]), also known as Gostomel Airport or Hostomel Airport (Ukrainian: аеропорт „Гостомель”) is an international cargo airport and testing facility in Ukraine, located near Gostomel — the northwestern suburb of Kiev.[1]
The airport is owned by the Antonov aircraft manufacturing company and operated by its subsidiary Antonov Airlines. The only An-225, world's largest operating aircraft, is based in Gostomel.
History
Construction of the airport began in 1959.
Commercial cargo operations at the airport began in 1989 with the first attempts at demilitarizing and commercializing of the Antonov Design Bureau.
Aircraft testing operations
Gostomel Airport was originally built as a top-secret in-house Flight Testing and Improvement Base (Ukrainian: Льотно-випробувальна і довідна база) for Antonov airplanes. It is equipped with special equipment for it (e.g., artificial lightning generator) and granted a purpose test flight zone. Its sister facility, responsible for manufacturing, is located inside Kyiv at the Sviatoshyn Airfield.
Cargo operations
The airport is used by the Antonov Airlines, as well as by other interested cargo carriers. The following facilities and services are available on site:
- transshipping (air-to-auto; air-to-railway[2])
- storage capacities
- border control and customs
- aircraft maintenance
Military presence
Ukrainian Air Force is either using or was using the airport for its transportation forces.
Notes
- ↑ (Boryspil and Zhulyany are the other two airports that serve Kiev)
- ↑ Via the Bucha railroad station of the Ukrainian Railways.
External links
Media related to Gostomel Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Antonov Airport at Antonov ASTC corporate Web site
- Airport information for UKKM at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- NOAA/NWS Weather observations for the Antonov Airport
- ASN Accident history for the Antonov Airport