Where is XHQ ??

[gpuk]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me anything about XHQ? I think it's an airport in or near Hopa, Turkey but I can't find any info on it. I know BUS is nearby but I don't think it's the same airport (since BUS is in Georgia).

I think Pegasus Airlines operate flights from/to there.

Any help appreciated!

[barry lloyd]

Batum-Hopa airport on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey. Not a million miles from Batumi in Georgia, which could account for any confusion.

There are flights from there, but I think they're seasonal, and since there are relatively few flights out of Batumi, it's probably used by Georgians as well as Turks.

[gpuk]

Thanks Barry.

Weird that there's virtually no info on google about this airport. I was trying to figure out its icao and runway length. I can't even find it on google maps!

[Flying Wild]

maybe try this... Let me google that for you

[jabird]

There are flights from there, but I think they're seasonal, and since there are relatively few flights out of Batumi, it's probably used by Georgians as well as Turks.

Not sure that Turkey's eastern borders are the easiest to cross?

[barry lloyd]

Done it myself a couple of times. Relatively problem-free as land border crossings go. It's a very busy crossing actually, but a lot of what crosses is not trade in the conventional sense, if you get my drift...

[DaveReidUK]

Batum-Hopa airport on the Black Sea Coast of Turkey. Not a million miles from Batumi in Georgia, which could account for any confusion.

That's because they are one and the same place.

It's not unknown for IATA to assign two codes to the same airport, particularly when it serves two countries - Basel/Mulhouse being the obvious example.

[AGPwallah]

lowcostroutes.com show Batumi as being 69km from Batum-Hopa.

AGP

[DaveReidUK]

lowcostroutes.com show Batumi as being 69km from Batum-Hopa.

A lot closer than Frankfurt-Hahn to Frankfurt, then.

Edit: Takes about an hour on the bus, apparently. Maybe they'll build an airport that's closer one day.

[gpuk]

@Flying Wild: yes, but have you actually read through those results? They're all useless.

[gpuk]

@DaveReidUK: is it safe to assume they are one and the same? I think they must be since I've done some extensive google earth scouting around Hopa and can't see a runway anywhere nearby other than Batumi (BUS).

[Ernest Lanc's]

Airports near Batum - Hopa

Batumi at 69km
Kutaisi at 143km
Trabzon at 143km
Erzurum at 160km
Kars at 165km

You can fly to the UK from Batum Hopa..

Fly low cost from Batum - Hopa to UK: London Stansted (STN)

Low cost flights from Batum - Hopa airport (XHQ), Turkey - cheap airlines

Lots of internal routes..The only airline seems to be 'Pagasus'

Low cost flights from Batum - Hopa airport (XHQ), Turkey to Turkey - cheap airlines

Hava

Where is it? These may help.

KIRMIZI BAYKU

This will need translating: KIRMIZI BAYKU

Batum / Hopa Seferleri Ba

I have read somewhere this airport is a remnant of the Soviet Union..

[DaveReidUK]

Fly low cost from Batum - Hopa to UK: London Stansted (STN)

Doh.

Go onto the Pegasus website and try to book a flight from Stansted to Hopa.

You will get a helpful popup telling you:

"Flights booked to Hopa terminate at Batumi, from which there is a bus continuing onto Hopa. Guests who book tickets for Hopa cannot enter Batumi".

[Ernest Lanc's]

"Flights booked to Hopa terminate at Batumi, from which there is a bus continuing onto Hopa. Guests who book tickets for Hopa cannot enter Batumi".

So?...I copied and pasted what I read..Barumi is only 69km from Hopa anyway.

Seen that pop up, and to me the second part of the pop up is unclear..

Does not really matter or rate a "Doh"...I was merely trying to find what Hopa was and where it was..

[gpuk]

Hi Ernest,

I've seen the same info you pasted from lowcostroutes.com (since they're pretty much the only site that has an entry for XHQ) but I've got a feeling their database isn't accurate. If you check the lat/long co-ords they give, there isn't an airport there...

So at this point I'm chalking it up to one of the following:

1). Ghost in the machine - XHQ isn't a valid iata airport code
2). XHQ is simply another code for BUS (since it looks like Batumi is a weird semi autonomous region according to something I read on wikipedia)
3). XHQ is an iata code but not for an airport. Maybe its a bus station or railway station.

[Ernest Lanc's]

Hi gpuk

2). XHQ is simply another code for BUS (since it looks like Batumi is a weird semi autonomous region according to something I read on wikipedia)

If this link is correct..There is no airport at Hopa, just a terminal from where you are bused to Batumi.

Turkish Airlines flies from Batumi to Istanbul, but is categorized as both Batumi (Hopa) and Batumi (International). Passengers from Hopa (in Turkey) check in at a terminal there and are bused across the border to Batumi for their flight. Fares coming from "Hopa" cost about 100USD while from Batumi they are significantly more expensive (both are for the exact same flight).

Can I check in at Batumi airport with a Hopa-Istanbul ticket? - Lonely Planet travel forum

As it is informed, the flights for Hopa passengers and Batumi passengers are executed with the same aircraft. Passenger possessing the ticket for Hopa has no right to enter Batumi territory, even in the event that passenger passes the passport control procedures in Istanbul airport. According to the mentioned above, passenger must obey the rule, because of the price difference between Hopa and Batumi tickets. Passengers possessing tickets for Hopa must travel to Hopa, and passengers possessing tickets for Batumi must travel to Batumi. The mentioned issue is particularly actual for the passengers traveling to Hopa, with Hopa tickets, due to avoiding matters with the representatives of the Customs Department of Georgia. In order to avoid such misunderstanding, we would like to momentously notify the passengers traveling to Hopa or Batumi regarding their rights.

Turkish Airlines

It would seem you are right gpuk.

[DaveReidUK]

As it is informed, the flights for Hopa passengers and Batumi passengers are executed with the same aircraft. Passenger possessing the ticket for Hopa has no right to enter Batumi territory, even in the event that passenger passes the passport control procedures in Istanbul airport. According to the mentioned above, passenger must obey the rule, because of the price difference between Hopa and Batumi tickets. Passengers possessing tickets for Hopa must travel to Hopa, and passengers possessing tickets for Batumi must travel to Batumi. The mentioned issue is particularly actual for the passengers traveling to Hopa, with Hopa tickets, due to avoiding matters with the representatives of the Customs Department of Georgia. In order to avoid such misunderstanding, we would like to momentously notify the passengers traveling to Hopa or Batumi regarding their rights.

Exactly.

As I said previously (some 10 posts ago):

It's not unknown for IATA to assign two codes to the same airport, particularly when it serves two countries - Basel/Mulhouse being the obvious example.

[barry lloyd]

XHQ is simply another code for BUS (since it looks like Batumi is a weird semi autonomous region according to something I read on wikipedia)

Perhaps, as suggested, it is a weird code used for a bus service between BUS and Hopa. The lat and long designations given on the low fares website coincide exactly with BUS. There is an airfield (of sorts) at Hopa but I had always understood it to be military. Batumi is the major oil port for Georgia and is very definitely part of Georgia even though it is described as a semi-autonomous region. (The oil is brought by rail from Azerbaijan).

I haven't been to Batumi for a couple of years now, but the terminal and remainder of the airport infrastructure appeared to be quite small when I was last there, and I doubt very much if it could cope with any significant amount of traffic.

[Ernest Lanc's]

DaveReidUK

Exactly.

As I said previously (some 10 posts ago):

Yes you did..But XHQ is not a valid airport code, it's just a terminal code in Hopa, which is served by BUS IMHO.

If that is correct, then the answer to gpuk's threadstart is Turkey.

Reason: Hopa might be the same as Batumi..But I can't see how a none airport code like XHQ can be the same as BUS. That's my opinion.

[DaveReidUK]

But XHQ is not a valid airport code

I don't understand how you can make a categorical statement like that without quoting the source you are using. I don't have a current copy of the IATA Airline Coding Directory, which would hopefully settle the matter conclusively - do you ?

Would you classify, for example, MLH as "not a valid airport code" because it's the same place as BSL ?

But I can't see how a none airport code like XHQ can be the same as BUS.

Well clearly if it was a non-airport code then it couldn't be the same. But we haven't established that yet.

If it helps, IATA rules prohibit airlines from publishing schedules that purport to be non-stop (e.g. Stansted-XHQ) if they actually involve more than one segment such as an additional flight leg or a road journey.

So using XHQ to mean "Hopa, via Batumi" wouldn't be allowed, whereas using it to mean "Batumi (passengers entering/exiting from/to Turkey)" would be perfectly OK, just like MLH means "Basel/Mulhouse (passengers entering/exiting from/to France".