Out of UMMM (Minsk-1) AD 2.22 Flight procedures:
“The ATC unit controller monitoring IFR flight is responsible:
Can I expect ATC calls like this “Sparrow, 10o’clock, range 3km, altitude 100m, not verified” ?
NB: Is Minsk-1 being closed? The maintenance facility was apparently moved away and the land is being redeveloped, and they’ll loose their AFTN terminals next january.
Substitute a flock of seagulls for a sparrow, and you may well hear something to that tune, especially if they get a recent PIREP. Some airports keep hunting falcons (and have a dedicated falconer on payroll) to scare other birds away.
Is Minsk-1 being closed?
Excuse me for blandly copying from a well-known source. Seems like they finally got around to doing what they intended for so long.
Minsk-1 opened in 1933 a few kilometres to the south of the historical centre. In 1955 it became an international airport and by 1970 served over 1 million passengers a year. From 1982 it mainly served domestic routes in Belarus and short-haul routes to Moscow, Kiev and Kaliningrad. Minsk-1 was expected to be closed in 2008 because of the noise pollution in the surrounding residential areas, but in the mid-2010 it is still functioning. The land of the airport is planned to be redeveloped for residential and commercial real estate, currently branded as Minsk-City.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
Excuse me for blandly copying from a well-known source
I found that source too, but it doesn’t seem like there’s a schedule for closing it? Also, while the AFTN addresses seem gone first cycle 2016, the rest of the aerodrome info has not been withdrawn.
