Bastia–Poretta Airport
Airport serving Bastia, Corsica, France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bastia–Poretta Airport[a] (IATA: BIA, ICAO: LFKB) is an airport serving Bastia on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica. It is located 17 km (11 mi) south-southeast of Bastia at Lucciana,[1] both of which are communes of the Upper Corsica department.
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Bastia–Poretta Airport Aéroport de Bastia Poretta Aeroportu di Bastia Poreta | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | CCI of Bastia and Upper Corsica | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bastia | ||||||||||
| Location | Lucciana, Corsica, France | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 26 ft (7.9 m) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°33′00″N 009°29′05″E | ||||||||||
| Website | bastia.aeroport.fr | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  LFKB Location of the airport in Corsica  LFKB LFKB (France) | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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| Source: French AIP,[1] Aeroport.fr[2] | |||||||||||
History
In 1944, during World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force. On 31 July 1944, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the legendary French pilot, took off from this airport and disappeared, on a reconnaissance flight over France in a Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
USAAF combat units assigned:[clarification needed]
- 414th Night Fighter Squadron, (Twelfth Air Force), 5 February–July 1944; 5 September – 13 October 1944, Bristol Beaufighter
- 527th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group, (Twelfth Air Force), 12 July-23 September 1944, P-47 Thunderbolt
- 416th Night Fighter Squadron, (Twelfth Air Force), 14–23 August 1944, P-61 Black Widow
- 417th Night Fighter Squadron, (Twelfth Air Force), February–April 1944; 25 April – 7 September 1944, Bristol Beaufighter[3]
- 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, (3d Reconnaissance Group), 11 July – 24 September 1944, P-38/F-5 Lightning
- 23rd Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, (3d Reconnaissance Group), 11 July – 24 September 1944, P-38/F-5 Lightning
- 111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, (XII Tactical Air Command), 21 July – 27 August 1944, P-51/F-6 Mustang
- 42nd Bombardment Wing was headquartered at the airfield, 21 September – 24 November 1944.
- 47th Bomb Group (Light) http://www.47thbombgroup.org/ 12 July - 5 September 1944, Douglas A-20, Douglas A-20 Havoc - Wikipedia and A-26 Douglas A-26 Invader - Wikipedia
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Bastia – Poretta airport:
