Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bentota Airport


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   Keep. Fram (talk) 15:20, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Bentota Airport

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Just a single line info about the airport and nothing else. Hence it doesn't deserve to remain here. Abhishek191288 (talk) 06:02, 31 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep: Because (as I understand it) airports with an airport code are notable per se. This is the same reason why this article survived the PROD. As you can see from the revision history, there once were commercial flights. Per aspera ad Astra (talk) 08:02, 31 October 2010 (UTC)


 * Comment. The source in the article does not seem reliable, as a look at the satellite view of the location that it claims for this airport clearly shows that there is no airport there. The coordinates in the article lead to a point in the sea. Phil Bridger (talk) 18:55, 1 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep I see no reason why an airport would not be able to meet GNG. Just because it is a stub now does not mean it cannot have a titled page. Sebwite (talk) 22:07, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * But does the airport actually exist? The evidence that I presented above suggests otherwise. Phil Bridger (talk) 22:32, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The airport does exist. That anyone can see through a google search. And the nom's concern was not it being a hoax, just the lack of information. Being a stub on Wikipedia is not grounds for deletion. The major problem is the no one has bothered yet to expand the article, and that is not grounds for deletion. Sebwite (talk) 23:04, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Which of the Google search results is a reliable source? As far as I can tell they are all sites that simply scrape information from elsewhere. All of these sites that give a location provide the same coordinates that I've shown above not to point to an airport. Phil Bridger (talk) 23:25, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * As I mentioned, the nom's concern is not it being a hoax, but just very short. Therefore, I am assuming good faith. The creator has more than 10,000 edits and has written extensively about many real airports around the world, leading me to believe s/he is a good-faith contributor who would not pass off a hoax. Notability may be a separate concern, but I do believe airports are probably inherently notable. It is also possible that s/he got some inaccurate information about the coordinates, and this needs to be corrected. Sebwite (talk) 23:57, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I am not saying that the article creator is trying to pass off a hoax, but that the source provided in good faith turns out to be unreliable. I agree that the nominator didn't provide a valid reason for deletion, but in the course of this discussion I have found a different reason that is valid: that this article fails our verifiability policy. Phil Bridger (talk) 00:12, 4 November 2010 (UTC)

 Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Black Kite (t) (c) 00:03, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Delete I can find no evidence of notability no matter where I look. Even a search for the airport on Google Maps gives no results, and, as Phil Bridger pointed out, the coordinates given in the article point to the sea. From what I'm finding, the closest major airport to Bentota is in Colombo, about 90km away. It may exist, but, per WP:ITEXISTS, this does not necessarily make it suitable for inclusion, especially if we can't even verify its existence. Redfarmer (talk) 01:01, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Change to Keep after the press release found below. Other editors should note however, that arguing WP:ITEXISTS is a strawman since no one only one editor has denied the possibility of its existence, and that editor has now voted keep. All other concerns have regarded its notability. Redfarmer (talk) 11:05, 10 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Clarification. Bentota Airport is a river airport. It's a place where flying boats land. A clear stretch of water and a jetty to get on and off. Nothing to expand here; just a point on the map and in most detailed travel guides. It it worth an article? Hardly. But it exists. Question to those who were looking at a river airport on google maps: there's a pretty wide lagoon - how could you miss it? East of Borschov 08:03, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * OK, I get it now. I was parsing the name as "(Bentota River) Airport" rather than "Bentota (River Airport)". Phil Bridger (talk) 09:34, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Could you please list some of the travel guides where this is mentioned? I have been unable to find any. Phil Bridger (talk) 10:13, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Transportation-related deletion discussions.  -- Jclemens-public (talk) 05:56, 8 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep and rescue As noted above, this is a river airport. Sources have not been found because no one has been looking for them as this. Dew Kane (talk) 05:07, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Comment. Actually I have spent quite some time looking for reliable sources and have been unable to find any. Phil Bridger (talk) 10:13, 9 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Strong Keep SriLankan Airlines just announced resumption of service to Bentota . The press release specficially mentions the airport code as BJT which, I believe, confirms that this airport does in fact exist, and is notable as it served (well actually will be in a months time) by a major international airline.  Additionally, the Twin Otters that SirLankan has ordered, which in the quoted press release above are the planes that will operating the route, are to float planes, and thus, is why no visible runway exists, as the runway is the water, and the map definition is just too poor to see a dock or other facility to handle the passengers/planes.  The press release confirming SriLankan's Twin Otter are to be float planes is here  Ravendrop (talk)  —Preceding undated comment added 05:09, 10 November 2010 (UTC).
 * Keep now that this has been verified as an airport with planned scheduled services. Phil Bridger (talk) 08:22, 10 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.