Tibh Airport

Tibh Airport 摯陟降場 tibh-trjek-krungh-l′jang′
Terminal 1 of Tibh in 2005
IATA: TBH ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Tibh Aerodrome Corporation
Location	Tibh, IAR, Themiclesia
Opened	February 24, 1918 (1918-02-24)
Hub for	Star Air
Focus city for	Kien-k'ang
Elevation AMSL	ft / 57 m
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 01/19 10,236 3,120 Asphalt 03/21 11,614 3,340 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Traffic 29,230,050

Tibh Airport (IATA: TBH; Shinasthana: 摯陟降場, tibh-trjek-krungh-l′jang′) is an international airport located in Tibh, Inner Administration, in Themiclesia. The airport covers hundreds of acres along the western bank of the river Kaung and directly faces the city of Kien-k'ang across the river. Until 1987, Tibh was the largest airport by passenger volume serving the city of Kien-k'ang. The airport was shared between commercial operators and the Themiclesian Air Force until 1954, when the latter's runway was converted to commercial traffic.

History

Early years

The Tibh Aerodrome opened in 1919 as an airfield for the Western Aviation Club, when aviation as an amateur sport was gaining ground amongst the Themiclesian rich. The Western Aviation Club's social premises were located in Kien-k'ang, where local by-laws and land price absolutely prohibited the construction of an airfield. The club in 1918 bought the tract of land on the west bank of the river Kaung, in Tibh; the land's naturally levelness, created by the river's deposits, attracted it. The same year, a training programme for amateur pilots to support the Themiclesian Air Force was established in the grounds, though only open to members. There was a clubhouse and garage on the airfield for members' convenience.

Commercial aviation debuted in Themiclesia not long after the advent of flying clubs, initially with amateur pilots carrying passengers and privately-offered air mail in 1925. These flights were frequently for pleasure and novelty as there were few scheduled flights in place, and aviation was still received with some speculation amongst prominent, conservative individuals. Nevertheless, the Western Aviation Club launched a commercial service in 1927, and by the following year it generated revenues for the club and carried hundreds of passengers to as far as Rim-tsi, Tonning, and P′a′. Commercial pilots were trained at the club but were not full members.

In 1930, the air force began renting the airfield on certain days of the calendar to train its pilots, and in 1934 it built its own field immediately south of the club's premises. A barracks building was constructed at the same time. Between 1934 and 1937, the headquarters of the air force was located in the Tibh airfield. As Menghe redoubled towards the Themiclesian heartland in the 30s, the club's field was also used by the air force. Fighter pilots regularly took off and landed in Tibh during aerial battles over lower Themiclesia. Contested by both Menghean and Dayashinese forces, Tibh airfield was defended by the Themiclesian Air Force Regiment as a front-line airfield. It continued to see heavy use during the counter-offensive beginning in 1940 that ultimately broke the nine-month siege of Kien-k'ang.

Pan-Septentrion War

Civilian aviation was suspended over Kien-k'ang in 1939 due to encroaching enemy aircraft and was re-opened in 1942; because of rationing of fuel, amateur and commercial aviation did not restart in earnest until 1946. Between 1942 and 1946, Tibh's club airfield provided for the transport of ministers and other dignitaries, while the military field was often used by Hallian bombers as an intermediate stop to Tsjêngh airfield in the southeast, where bombing raids of Menghe was conducted. Various improvements, such as sealing of the runways, were carried out during this era to accommodate larger aircraft and storage of materials. Club aviation restarted in Tibh in 1948. The current Terminal 1 was completed in 1949 to accommodate a boom in air traffic.

Post-war

In 1951, the Government transferred everything built in Tibh, including massive expansions since 1930, to the club; however, exposed scandals like these ruined the Conservative government later that year. Because of running costs and punitive taxation on such a giant tract of land, the club after only months sold the grounds to its current owner, the Tibh Aerodrome Corporation, a public corporation, with provisions for club members to use premises at no charge. In 1953, Lower Themiclesian Air Transport, Kien-k'ang Air Transport, and Star Airways merged to form Star Air, immediately becoming the largest commercial carrier in Themiclesia; inheriting a number of old military aircraft converted for commercial use, it erected a plenitude of facilities at Tibh, the centre of its operations. Tibh was shared between commercial aviation and the air force until 1957, when the air force ceded the southern airfield to the Aerodrome Corporation.

In 1953, the 01/19 runway was extended further north over the thin strip of land to accommodate larger commercial aircraft. Between 1954 – 1955, Tibh became the first airfield in Themiclesia to record 1,000,000 travellers during a calendar year. When it received the southern airfield, the existing runway was judged too short, so a new runway was constructed to its east and numbered 03/21. The new runway measured 1,960 m and became the preferred runway when it opened in 1958. The most serious accident at Tibh occurred on Jan. 4, 1956, when a military flight carrying 154 soldiers crashed between the runways, killing the pilot and all passengers; the pilot's inexperience and poor signalling between the runways were blamed for the crash. After the air force moved away, the former air force headquarters was converted into a second linear terminal and office space.

Further extensions to the runways, 01/19 northwards over reclaimed land and 03/21 southwards, were carried out in the 1960s to accommodate even larger airliners. This extension required the purchase and levelling of new land, at considerable cost, as the area south of the airfield was occupied by residential buildings erected in the 50s to serve the air base. Terminal 1 was expanded in 1960 and provided with 14 jetways, and Terminal 2 in 1963 with 12. Themiclesian Airways established operations in Tibh in 1961. Crowding became a noticeable issue during the 60s as more airlines established maintenance facilities on the airfield's rather narrow strip of land, and the terminals extensions in 1966 encroached upon maintenance facilities, prompting Themiclesian Airways to launch a formal complaint to the Aerodrome Corporation.

While the area west of the airfield had been mostly residential and even vacant, more houses, office buildings, and shops began to appear in the area since the end of the Pan-Septentrion War. In view of bombing damage to Kien-k'ang's houses and a pressing need to house veterans, the Government financed several building projects consisting of thousands of domiciles near Tibh, generally without fully considering the airfield's future need for expansion. The rapid growth of local communities was sustained by the suburbanization of Kien-k'ang's peripheral counties, the process being also supported by the Government's policy to renew notorious slum districts in Kien-k'ang. The extension of runways was only possible because they ran along the riverbanks, where major constructions were forbidden; extension to provide more depth, however, was financially impracticable.

Over the 1950s and 60s, the approach over the northern arm of the river Kaung became more challenging. Originally, pilots had roughly a kilometer to align with the runway after turning around Mt. Kaw-sit, but the extension of 1968 placed the threshold of runway 19 over the river and closer to the mountain. Pilots therefore needed to make a sharper, descending turn at a lower altitude around Mt. Kaw-sit to land on the runway correctly. The runway was invisible to the pilot until around halfway around Mt. Kaw-sit, necessitating an elaborate lighting system in the Kaung and on the mountains to guide the pilot, especially at night or inclement weather. The approach on runway 21 was less challenging but was considered spectacular as it required the pilot to fly through a 1,200 m gap between the built-up riverbanks and then quicly bank right then left. Development in the vicinity resulted in tall buildings that offered pressure, if not technical difficulty, to pilots approaching over the river.

In 1968, the Secretary of State for Transport ordered a study of Tibh's future development, which concluded it would be more economical to built an alternative airfield in a less developed area. In 1977, the relief airfield was tentatively placed in Klrei County, and work occurred between 1982 and 87. During this period, Tibh continued to grow, and the two runways often operated at peak capacity well into the night, provoking frequent noise complaints. The terminals were extended for a third time in 1984, resulting in 54 jetways in total. During this extension, the Sjam Island was granted to the airport to settle maintenance facilities displaced by the expanding terminal. Due to lack of apron space for taxiways, airplanes can sometimes be seen queuing to taxi to different locations.

Renewal

Kei Airport opened in 1987 after over 15 years of planning, but in terms of passenger volume it would not exceed Tibh until 1993. Tibh's initial decline in traffic occurred in freight, followed by passenger when Themiclesian Airways officially moved to Kei in 1990. Due to lack of consolidation and processing space and the premium the Aerodrome Corporation charged for them, freight carriers were the first to move to the new and more spacious airport. However, their departure made room for other airlines, especially domestic carriers, that wished to take advantage of Tibh's lucrative proximity to the city. According to some, time from touchdown to arrival at the city centre could be as little as 30 minutes; however, this speed is constantly threatened by Tibh's ageing infrastructure and general crowdedness. In particular, the process of collecting baggage almost never took less than an hour at Tibh prior to upgrades in 1995.

Between 1992 and 1995, Tibh experienced a noticeable decline in passenger traffic that in 1996 a plan to renew and downsize the airport was accepted by the managing corporation. A new terminal was built between 1998 and 2001, and operations from Terminal 1 was moved there in 2002.

Operations

Terminal

Tibh airport consisted of one linear terminal, largely parallel to runway 19/01, with two piers on its south side. The terminal possesses 54 jetways from which passengers can board and alight from aircraft directly. It was formed by the junction of the original passenger terminal, rebuilt in 1945, and the barracks of the Tibh Air Base, which the air force occupied since 1930 but transferred to the airport in 1959. The terminal is a one-storey building with no basement, spanning 2.18 km from the extreme north to south, but its floor area is limited due to narrow width.

The main entrance to the terminal is on its northern end, facing west, and leads directly to airport security. Ticketing desks and airline offices are located in the wing south of and perpendicular to the terminal. There are two extensions to the main terminal that permit jetways to extend into the apron, which has very limtied depth. Passengers who have passed security may proceed south to reach the two piers, which hold more jetways.

Runways

Tibh has two runways, referred to as 19/01 and 21/03. Both runways are considered challenging to land on, for different reasons.

• 19/01 is parallel to the original passenger terminal and measures 3,032 metres in length. Incoming traffic is normally directed to runway 19, whose northern end is extended into the river Kaung. Directly west of the runway is a natural hill called Kam-sit Mountain, while the east of the runway co-incides with the riverbank. The runway is flanked on its north by March's Island, whose coast is lined with tall apartment buildings and a hill in the northwest. The pilot is expected to fly directly over the western arm of the Kaung and make a 60° turn along Mt. Kam-sit to align with the runway, which has been made more difficult by the extension of the runway northwards. Approach on 19 is often called the "blind approach" by enthusiasts because the runway is not visible to the pilot until the sharp turn is made at low altitude. After the introduction of larger aircraft in the 1960s and 70s, it was sometimes necessary to correct for a more generous turn around the mountain.
• 21/03 is nearly parallel to 19/01 but located off to its south and measures 3,310 metres. Incoming traffic on this runway is normally directly to 21, which entails an approach from the northeast. Prior to 1970, the approach was executed westwards over the north of Kien-k'ang, which was dominated by a large park and thus sparsely built up, and a sharp turn was necessary south of Mt. Djak into a 1200 m gap between the buildings on either side of the bank. Since then, the signal lights have been moved to create an approach from the north, over the east arm of the Kaung, to alleviate building restrictions on the city. Due to the local climate, pilots very often face crosswinds while landing on 21. The approaching aircraft flies over several bridges on the river, this scene being renowned in photographic circles.

See also

• Themiclesia