Around the World - Leg 9 & 10: LFKC to LIBD & LIBD to LGTS
- Flight Level
- Apr 25, 2020
- 2 min read
LEG 9: LFKC to LIBD
For leg 9, we left Calvi and look east to Italy and the Bari Karol Wojtyła Airport (LIBD). This hop was a beautiful, late afternoon flight which took us approximately one hour and 45 minutes, covering a distance of roughly 390 nautical miles. We left via runway 36 and flew into Bari via the ILS RW07, with over 50 passengers. LIBD is named after Pope John Paul II (he was born in Karol Wojtyła). This was originally a military airfield back in the 1930s and in the 1960s it opened up to civilian flights and Alitalia began scheduling flights to Rome. Due in part to the World Cup Italia in 1990, the runway was extended which brings the runway to over 9800 feet, which was ample length for our Dash 8 Q400.
LEG 10: LIBD to LGTS
We left Bari the next day and while the weather into Bari was beautiful, it was much less so on the outward leg. Storm clouds were brewing and as the winds picked up there were isolated thunderstorms we had to contend with and with storm-like weather over at our destination, Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia" (LGTS), I knew it was going to be a challenging leg.
I used the EDASI 2F approach into the airport aiming for ILS RW16. The arc on this approach was made difficult by extremely intense gusts of wind and pouring rain. The awesome flight conditions of Calvi seemed a distant memory now. Thankfully after a go-around, I was able to bring it in safely to sweet terra firma. Even though this leg was less than 300 nautical miles, it felt like an eternity during those high winds on final. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and LGTS is the third largest airport after Athens & Heraklion. LGTS opened in the 1930s and is considered the main airport northern greece. LGTS plays host to a few large airliners and a large number of regional, charter airlines.
After LGTS, we look southeast to Larnaca, Cyprus - and hopefully some nicer weather!
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