Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Portorož Airport (LJPZ) sits at Sečovlje on Slovenia's Adriatic coast, within a few hundred metres of the Croatian border and a short hop from Piran and Portorož. A modest but well-equipped general aviation field with a single hard runway, it is popular with visiting light aircraft pilots for its coastal scenery, Avgas and Jet A1 fuel, and friendly handling. Its history stretches back to 1962, when it began life as a grass sports strip for parachute competitions before growing into a licensed international aerodrome.
Portorož Airport, known locally as Aerodrom Portorož, lies at Sečovlje near Piran on Slovenia's short stretch of Adriatic coastline. It is the smallest of Slovenia's international airports and today functions primarily as a general aviation field, handling light aircraft, business flights, panoramic sightseeing flights and skydiving operations rather than scheduled airline traffic. For a simulator pilot it offers an attractive coastal approach close to the Croatian border, with Piran, Portorož and the Sečovlje Salt Pans all visible on the join.
The airport is located at Sečovlje, about 6 km south of the resort town of Portorož and less than 300 m from the border with Croatia, placing it in the far south-western corner of Slovenia. It sits within the Sečovlje Salt Pans area, close to Piran, Izola and Koper to the north and Umag in Croatia to the south, and is roughly 20 km from Trieste in Italy. Traffic in the vicinity is worked by Portorož Tower/Approach.
The field has a single physical runway aligned 15/33, hard-surfaced and lit. Runway 15 is 3922 ft long and Runway 33 is 3174 ft long. Field elevation is 3 ft. There is no ILS.
Portorož Tower provides an approach and tower service on 124.875 MHz, with a further approach/tower frequency published as 124.88 MHz under the callsign PortoRoz Approach. There is no ILS at the field, so arrivals should expect a visual or procedural join under the guidance of the tower/approach service.
Specific published circuit heights or joining procedures are not detailed in the available material; pilots should expect a visual join coordinated with Portorož Tower/Approach given the coastal terrain and proximity to the Croatian border, and should check current NOTAMs before flight as advised by the airport operator.
The airport sits within the Sečovlje Salt Pans National Park, a distinctive landscape of salt pans and lagoons that stands out clearly from the air. The coastal towns of Portorož and Piran lie a short distance to the north along the shoreline and serve as useful landmarks when inbound, while the Croatian border runs just south of the airfield boundary.
Portorož Airport's origins date to 1962, when ground preparations began for a sports airfield with a 400 m grass runway; plans were quickly revised to extend this to 800 m to host the third Adriatic Parachute Cup the following year. A flight inspection team examined the field on 27 September 1962 and recommended temporary registration as a secondary sports airport for aircraft up to 3,000 kg. Aero Club Piran was formed in April 1963, and the parachute competition duly took place later that year. In 1971 the city of Piran resolved to build a full international sports airport at the site, with construction and reconfiguration of a 700 m runway approved and completed by January 1972; sporting-purpose registration followed in February 1973. The Coast Flight Centre was established in January 1975, and a runway refurbishment and extension project began the same year alongside the first phase of a terminal and apron. Works finished in August 1976, producing an 850 m runway widened to 28 m, and the airport formally reopened on 1 October 1978, entering the register of airports and of panoramic flights. A hangar was built in 1979 and the airport's first Cessna 172 was purchased. On 2 June 1980 the field gained category D commercial status for domestic and international civil use, and a fuel station supplying Avgas 100LL was built the same year. On 1 May 1981 an Aero Commander 500 became one of the first larger aircraft to land, arriving from Passau, and further infrastructure - a control tower, border crossing point, meteorological office and flight information office - was added that year. The first Dash 7 landed in 1983, the runway was lengthened to 1,200 m and widened to 30 m in April 1984, and the field was registered for Dash 7 operations that July. A technical hangar and fire station were completed in 1986, and runway and approach lighting installed in 1989 enabled night operations, with the field classified ICAO 2C and its fire category raised, together with approval for aircraft up to 27 tonnes. In April 1991 the airport was reorganised as the limited company Aerodrom Portorož d.o.o. The Aviatica general aviation air show was held at the field in May 2004, and later that year the operator signed a partnership agreement with the Municipality of Piran, Ljubljana Airport, Istrabenz and the Port of Koper to support further development.
Portorož Airport today operates as a general aviation airport offering aircraft parking on both grass and tarmac, fuel delivered to the aircraft by truck (Avgas and Jet A1), marshalling assistance on arrival, and a renovated terminal with an apron-view restaurant. Customs operates concurrently with the airport's published opening hours. Reported operating hours vary by source, with the airport itself citing 10:00 to 18:30 local time and advising pilots to check NOTAMs before flight, while other published hours give 08:30 to 20:00 in summer and 08:30 to 17:00 in winter; pilots should confirm current hours before planning a flight. The field also hosts panoramic sightseeing flights and skydiving activity.But no simulator scenery availability is mentioned in the available material.