Ljubljana Brnik
| Continent: Europe | Country: Slovenia |
| Aerodrom Ljubljana | |
| Location | Brnik, Slovenia |
| IATA code | LJU |
| ICAO code | LJLJ |
| Airport type | Commercial |
| Website | http://www.lju-airport.si |
| Overview map | Google Maps |
| Communications | |
| Tower | 118.00 |
| Ground | 131.40 |
| Clearance | 135.275 |
| Approach | 135,275 |
| Departure | 135.275 |
| ATIS | 118.475 |
Letalisce Joze Pucnik Ljubljana (as from 09 June 2007) is the biggest and Slovenia's primary airport, it's also one of three international airports in country. It's a hub to Slovenia's airline, Adria Airways. There are no domestic flights, as Slovenia is small. The vast majority of scheduled flights are to points within Europe. The airport's single runway is the 3,300 metres (10,827 feet) long, asphalt 13/31. As long as conditions permit, all arriving aircraft will use runway 31 since only this runway has an ILS. When conditions become marginal for runway 31 things can get unpredictable as some pilots will opt to land on 31 while others opt to go round and land on 13. For departing, they sometimes use 13 or 31, depending on traffic and/or weather situation.
Airport is backed with mountains and has nice spotting points along the whole length of the runway.
Official Spotting Locations
Spotting Terrace
Official spotting location is the terrace overlooking the apron. To reach it you have to exit the terminal and go left a short distance (just follow the signs saying "Terasa"). It faces south-west so it is good for photography in the morning, though in summer photography becomes possible again towards sunset for some positions on the ramp. The terrace is behind glass.
Other Spotting Locations
Runway 31/13
There are very good spotting locations on an unpaved track that runs by the perimeter fence all along the length of the runway. The track is popular with walkers and cyclists. To get there, drive further on the Kranj-Brnik road and in the town Spodnji Brnik, turn right, to Vodice. Then drive for about 500 metres and turn right, when you see the runway. Then you can move freely along the runway. One of the best locations is on the beginning of runway 31, where you can see all aircraft landing.
It is also possible to reach the perimeter track on foot. Starting from the terminal, turn left as you leave the airport and walk along the roadside till you get to the top of runway 13. This takes around half an hour. There is a path which connects the road to the unpaved track on the opposite side of the runway. It is a further 45 minutes along this track to the runway 31 end, but this route is easier for walkers than that via Spodnji Brnik since it involves less roadside walking and the main road has no walkways - only a grassy verge, which is safe but rough going.
Along much of the fence you will need a ladder, but without a ladder it is still possible to catch arriving aircraft against the mountains before they touch down.
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
- Airliners.net sample photo: medium large
Holding point F
This location is suitable for photographing the front of aircrafts, which are entering the runway for backtracking. Most aircrafts will pass this location. You can also photograph lots of police and army helicopters crossing the runway or landing on the apron. On this location the ladder is necessary.
Locations to Avoid
Regular Traffic
The best thing is to visit http://www.lju-airport.si , on the internet or on wap. You can also use the TTX pages, 178 (arrivals) and 179 (departures), on TVS1/TVS2 (Slovenia's national TV) http://teletekst.rtvslo.si . Most of Adria's fleet leaves and returns through the day.
Airlines that operate LJU/LJLJ
Every work day at around 21:00, you can spot UPS's 767-200F, coming from Köln, delivering cargo for the Balkans and then leaving for Istanbul. At around 04:00 the aircraft returns and picks the new cargo up and leave for Köln again (UPS hub for Europe). That is not true for Fridays, though it's a work day.
Airlines operating scheduled flights to the airport and the destinations served include:
- Adria Airways (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Brussels-Zaventem, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kiev-Boryspil, London-Gatwick, Manchester, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Ohrid, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Podgorica, Priština, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana, Vienna, Warsaw, Zürich)
- Adria Airways Cargo (Belgrade-Nikola Tesla, Frankfurt, Liège, Sarajevo, Zagreb)
- Air France Régional (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
- Czech Airlines (Prague)
- EasyJet (London-Stansted)
- Finnair (Helsinki)
- Jat Airways (Belgrade)
- Malev Hungarian Airlines (Budapest)
- Turkish Airlines (Istanbul-Atatürk)
- Brussels Airlines (Brussels-Zaventem)
- Montenegro Airlines (Podgorica-Sunday flight only)
- UPS (Koeln, Athens)
Facilities and Transportation
You can only use Bus or Taxi, because there is no air link or train line.