Airport type Military/Public Serves Pristina Elevation AMSL 545 m / 1,789 ft Elevation 545 m | Operator KFOR Location Slatina 17/35 2,501 Owner Kosovo | |
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Slatina Air Base (Albanian: Aeroporti Sllatina; Serbian: Аеродром Слатина, Aerodrom Slatina), located at Pristina International Airport, contained the second largest military underground hangar complex in former Yugoslavia. The largest one was at Željava Airport near Bihać. After 1999 NATO bombing in Yugoslavia, this object was used by NATO KFOR.
Before the Yugoslav military withdrawal, Slatina was home of the 83rd Fighter Aviation Regiment and its 123rd and the 124th squadron. These squadrons were equipped with MiG-21 Bis and MiG-21 UM aircraft.
Historical value of the Slatina air base
During the NATO's operation against Yugoslavia 83rd fighter squadron of Yugoslavian Air Forces was based in Slatina. It did not perform any sorties and suffered no losses from NATO aircraft during the 1999 bombings. Every single aircraft was intact.
The Slatina air base was a strategically important object which NATO had planned to use for airlifting of much of their military units in support of the UNSF Resolution 1244. Control over the airport was to be established on 12 June 1999 though that night the air base was seized by a battalion of Russian paratroopers.