Runways at LBIA
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), Bezmer Air Base has one runway: 12/30 - 2,497 m long (8,193 ft), 79 m wide, asphalt surface.
Bezmer Air Base (LBIA / JAM)
Bulgaria · elevation 509 ft AMSL
· 42.4549, 26.3522
About Bezmer Air Base
Bezmer Air Base is an airport with the ICAO code LBIA and the IATA code JAM. Country: Bulgaria. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Bezmer. OurAirports classifies it as a medium-sized airport. Its ICAO code starts with the LB prefix, which marks airports in Bulgaria. The four-letter code LBIA is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code JAM is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 42°27'18"N, 26°21'08"E, at an elevation of 509 ft (155 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is Europe/Sofia.
Satellite view of LBIA
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
Runways of LBIA
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 120° | 2,497 m (8,193 ft) | 79 m (260 ft) | asphalt |
| 30 | 300° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
Climate at Bezmer Air Base - statistics from METAR reports
What the METAR reports from LBIA for 2023-2025 show - counted hour by hour.
We computed these statistics from 24,670 METAR reports issued by LBIA in 2023-2025. VFR conditions prevailed 79% of the time, MVFR 11% and IFR or LIFR 9%. Best month for VFR flying: August (99% of hours VFR). Most IFR and LIFR hours: December (27%).
Through the day, IFR or LIFR conditions are most frequent around 06:00 UTC (18% of reports at that hour) and least frequent around 17:00 UTC (4%).
Fog (FG) was reported on 43 days a year on average, most often in January. Thunderstorms (TS) occurred on 28 days a year on average, and snowfall on 7.1.
The wind most often blows from ENE (68°) - 14% of reports. Calm (0 kt) made up 12% of reports, and gusts of 25 kt or more appeared in 1%. Warmest month: July (average high 34.2 °C); coldest: February (average low -0.9 °C).
Year
Selected period in numbers: 2023-2025
- VFR hours
- 79%
- IFR/LIFR hours
- 9%
- Avg high
- 20.6 °C
- Avg low
- 8.3 °C
- Fog days
- 43
- Thunderstorm days
- 28
- Snow days
- 7.1
- Prevailing wind
- ENE · 14%
- Gusts ≥ 25 kt
- 1%
Day counts are for the selected period (for all years - the yearly average).
- VFR 79%
- MVFR 11%
- IFR 5%
- LIFR 4%
The top of each bar is the average daily high, the bottom the average daily low (usually around dawn), in °C.
Wind rose
- 1-10 kt
- 11-20 kt
- over 20 kt
- calm: 12%
Most often: ENE - 14% of reports. Each petal shows the direction the wind blows from (as in METAR) - the longer it is, the more often. Colour shows wind speed.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | VFR | IFR/LIFR | Fog days | Thunderstorm days | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.9 | -0.0 | 48% | 26% | 10 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| February | 10.5 | -0.9 | 70% | 16% | 4.7 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| March | 15.4 | 3.9 | 73% | 9% | 2.7 | 2 | 0.3 |
| April | 18.7 | 6.2 | 85% | 7% | 1.3 | 4 | 0.7 |
| May | 21.8 | 9.6 | 87% | 4% | 2.1 | 4.2 | 0 |
| June | 31.2 | 15.7 | 98% | 1% | 0.7 | 4.3 | 0 |
| July | 34.2 | 18.3 | 98% | 1% | 0.3 | 4.3 | 0 |
| August | 32.9 | 17.8 | 99% | 1% | 0.3 | 4.7 | 0 |
| September | 27.8 | 14.5 | 97% | 1% | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| October | 21.3 | 7.9 | 88% | 4% | 3 | 0.7 | 0 |
| November | 15.0 | 4.8 | 64% | 16% | 7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| December | 9.7 | 1.5 | 45% | 27% | 10 | 0 | 0.7 |
Temperatures are averages of daily highs and lows. Day counts are the average per month over the period.
Runway headings and wind
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 12/30 on 120° and 300° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 12/30 axis, wind from the south-west (around 210°) or from the north-east (around 30°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 120° or 300° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
METAR and TAF for LBIA
Weather reports for Bezmer Air Base are published under the ICAO code LBIA. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the LBIA report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for LBIA, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The Europe/Sofia zone is GMT+02:00 in winter and GMT+03:00 in summer - that is the shift to apply to the time in the report to get local time at the airport.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are Sliven Barshen Airfield (LBSL, 21 km), Daskal-Atanasovo Airfield (LBDA, 40 km), Stara Zagora Airport (LBSZ, 58 km). When no report is available for LBIA, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
METAR Academy
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Step-by-step guides - with examples, charts and calculators.
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Looking for a report from a specific day?
The METAR archive for LBIA goes back to 21/07/2008. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
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