Tivat Airport: The Kai Tak of Europe

Real World Aviation
#1

Hello everyone! I am beginning a tiny series of these “airport facts” that are really unknown to many people. Without further a do, lets begin.

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Background
Tivat Airport, also known as TIV or LYTV, is an international airport that serves the coastal region of Montenegro, the towns of Tivat, Kotor and Bar. It is one of the two major airports that serve Montenegro, with the second airport being Podgorica airport.

History
The Tivat Airport opened in 1957 with a small grass runway, a small apron and a terminal with a control tower. From 1957 to 1968, most of the airport consisted of domestic traffic with aircraft like the IL-14 and DC-3. Following this period, the airport closed for 2 years because of the modernization of the airport, and reopened in 1971 with a asphalt runway, a bigger terminal and control tower. This allowed bigger aircraft and jet aircraft to fly into Tivat. The 1979 Montenegro earthquake also made the airport have to refurbish, and gained a bigger apron shortly after. In 2003, ownership was switched to the Airports of Montenegro group from JAT airways, and also had a refurbished passenger terminal, along with South Korea spending 1 million dollars to send in more aircraft. The IL-86 which flew to Moscow had been halted because of noise abatement concerns. The mid-2010’s brought in more passengers than ever.

Statistics
The airport has had many passengers serve the airport, and with 2017 being the biggest year yet, with 1 million people. Major airlines that serve Tivat are Aeroflot, Easyjet, TUIFly, Norwegian and S7, also operated by Globus Airlines. Numerous other airlines also serve Tivat, and destinations as far as UAE can be flown here.

So, why is this airport called the Kai Tak of Europe? Well it’s because of one certain quirky approach called the Runway 14 approach. Here’s a video from FSX and a small approach indicator picture I made. (Red means the 34 approach, there are 2 lines for the turns because they can be sharper or not as sharp.)

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Anyways, I believe that this airport is a very fun airport to fly into, and is the jewel of Balkan airports. I’ve flown here quite a few times but i’ve never ever seen anyone fly in there and anyone talk about it. Just remember… please don’t make it KNUC and fly there, it’s gold! Not an A380 oil platform. Goodbye friends, and until next time.

EDIT: This is in IF.

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How do you challenge yourself?
#2

Fun Fact: I’ve actually flown into Tivat in a MD-80 and it scared me a bit.

EDIT: A lot…

8 Likes
#3

I like this. Hopefully this will bring many small but unique airports to the surface 👍

1 Like
#4

Bookmarked, hope to fly into this soon with a CCX, ACJ, or BBJ.

#5

I like to land in Tivat.
And I was here in real live. It is really nice.
Take off from Tivat nice too

#6

I remember a Matt Davies (Belynz) video in which he landed there. Thanks for the reminder, I’ll check it out!

#7

Thank you so much for reminding it. Its so close from my home but i totally forgot about it. Just landed from Stockholm and wow, that was one of the most challenging approaches i ve flown. Definitely recommended,

#8

Thanks 😁 Fly more here! Super challenging

#9

Thanks for this, really fun approach to fly in.

I’ve found that trying to start this by using a 32 Approach in Solo spawns you in a mountain! Not ideal, so I am practicing by making a short approach and then circling out.

I’ve had a go at drafting coordinates for the approach, this is a bit tighter than the real thing as I think there’s a difference between IF and Google Maps - as the approach should be visual I would use these just as a guide than for going in with AP.

4221N/1846E 4224N/1840E 4225N/1839E 4226N/1840E 4226N/1841E LYTV

#10

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