Vaud

The Canton of Vaud (French pronunciation: ​[vo]; German: Waadt pronounced [ˈvaːt]) is the third largest of Swiss cantons by population and fourth by size. It is located in Romandie, the French-speaking western part of the country, and borders the canton of Neuchâtel to the north, the cantons of Fribourg and Bern to the east, Valais and Lake Geneva to the south, the canton of Geneva to the south-west and France to the west.

The capital and biggest city is Lausanne, officially designated "Olympic Capital" by the International Olympic Committee and host to many sport organizations. The canton had 725,944 inhabitants as of 2011.

History

Along the lakes, Vaud was inhabited in prehistoric times. Later, the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii inhabited the area. The tribe was defeated by Caesar's troops in 58 BC and as a consequence the Romans settled the area. The towns of Vevey (Latin: Viviscus) and Lausanne (Lausonium or Lausonna) are two of the many towns established by the Romans.

In 27 BC the state of Civitas Helvetiorum was established around the capital of Avenches (Aventicum). There are still many Roman remains around the town today. Between the 2nd and the 4th century the area was repeatedly invaded by Alemannic tribes, and in the 5th century the Burgundians occupied the area. The Merovingian Franks later replaced the Burgundians. Their occupancy did not last long either, and in 888 the area of the canton of Vaud was made part of the Carolingian Empire. In 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians. The Zähringens themselves were succeeded in 1218 by the counts of Savoy. It was only under the counts of Savoy that the area was given political unity, establishing the Barony of Vaud. A part stretching from Attalens to the River Sarine, in the north, was absorbed by the canton of Fribourg.

Swissair Flight 111

Swissair Flight 111 (SR111, SWR111) was a Swissair McDonnell Douglas MD-11 on a scheduled airline flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States to Cointrin International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. This flight was also a codeshare flight with Delta Air Lines.

On Wednesday, 2 September 1998, the aircraft used for the flight, registered HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax International Airport at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia. The crash site was 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from shore, roughly equidistant from the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggys Cove and Bayswater. All 229 people on board died—the highest death toll of any aviation accident involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and the second-highest of any air disaster to occur in Canada, after Arrow Air Flight 1285. This is one of only two hull losses of the passenger configured MD-11, along with China Airlines Flight 642, and one of three MD-11 accidents with passenger fatalities along with Flight 642 and China Eastern Airlines Flight 583.

Maharana Pratap Airport

Maharana Pratap Airport or Udaipur Airport or Dabok Airport (IATA: UDR, ICAO: VAUD) is the International airport at Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. It is situated 22 km (14 mi) east of Udaipur.

The airport is named after Maharana Pratap who was a Maharana (ruler) of the princely state of Mewar, in north-western India. The airport's new passenger terminal commenced operations in February 2008.

Structure

Udaipur Airport is spread over 504 acres. The airport has one asphalt runway, oriented 08/26, 9000 feet/ 2743 metres long and 45 metres wide. Its 250 by 150 metre apron provides parking space for 3 Boeing 737s or Airbus A320 aircraft at a time. The new terminal building, measuring 2500 sq. metres, was constructed at a cost of ₹80 Crores. The terminal has one boarding gate, 4 Check-in counters and can handle 600 passengers during peak hours. The airport is equipped with modern navigational and landing aids like DME/VOR and NDB. Runway 26 is equipped with a CAT-I Instrument Landing System.