Banjul International Airport
| Banjul International Airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | GBYD |
| IATA code | BJL |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 29 m (95 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 24 km south of Banjul |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1977 |
| operator | Gambia Civil Aviation Authority |
| surface | 1327 ha |
| Terminals | 3 |
| Passengers | 310,719 (2004) |
| Capacity ( PAX per year) |
1 million passengers annually |
| Start-and runway | |
| 14/32 | 3600 m × 45 m asphalt |
The Banjul International Airport (more rarely also Yundum International Airport ) is the only international airport in the West African state of Gambia . It is operated by the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
location
The airport is located around 24 kilometers south of the capital Banjul in the West Coast Region , Kombo North district near Yundum . The airport site covers a total area of 1327 hectares .
Close to the airport is the Abuko Nature Reserve , where the unique flora and fauna of Gambia have been preserved. A retreat area for many birds has also been created in an area of 1,800 hectares belonging to the airport and reserved for possible extensions.
history
The Gambia's first airport
In Jeshwang, in the Kombo-St. Mary Area , created with the airfield Jeshwang ( English Jeshwang Airfield ), the first airport in the former British colony of Gambia , that of the German Lufthansa was operated. This airfield served as a stopover for the transatlantic route to Rio de Janeiro . It was operated until the beginning of the Second World War .
Yundum Airfield
During the Second World War , Great Britain needed a base for its air force in West Africa. A base for 20 Sunderland flying boats was set up in Gambia and operated there at Bathurst. In June 1941 the No. 200 Squadron RAF stationed in Jeshwang and in 1943 relocated to the newly expanded airfield near Yundum , with two runways, the airfield Yundum ( English Yundum Airfield ). This base was also used by the United States Army Air Corps (now the Air Force ) in place of the Dakar base, which was under the control of the Vichy regime .
Expansion to the international airport
With British help, the airfield was expanded into an airport and opened in 1977. With support from the African Development Bank as well as from Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain , a further stage of expansion followed, which cost around US $ 20 million . The airfield was selected by NASA in 1987 as a transatlantic emergency landing site for space shuttles and was adapted for this task in a third stage in the following years. The new runway, the third longest in Africa, measures 3,600 m.
The airport terminal was expanded in a fourth phase in 1996 for around ten million US dollars to become West Africa's most modern airport at the time. The Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby , who also designed Banjul's landmark, Arch 22 , was responsible for the airport building. The complex now has a usable area of 9,000 m² and is designed for a capacity of one million passengers per year.
Airlines and Destinations
Corendon Airlines Europe flies to Banjul Airport from Düsseldorf , Leipzig / Halle and Munich from German-speaking countries . Other prominent airlines are Brussels Airlines , Royal Air Maroc , TAP Air Portugal and Turkish Airlines .
Incidents
- On March 22, 1944, a Douglas DC-3 / C-47A-80-DL of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) ( code 43-15143 ) crash-landed at Bathurst-Yundum Airport . At least one person was killed. The machine was destroyed.
- On August 30, 1946, the Avro 691 Lancastrian 3 G-AGWJ of British South American Airways came off the runway on landing and was destroyed.
- On September 7, 1946, an Avro 685 York operated by British South American Airways (G-AHEW) named Star Leader crashed three kilometers south of the airport shortly after take-off and exploded. The flight should run from London to Buenos Aires via Lisbon-Portela , Bathurst (Jeshwang), Natal , Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont and Montevideo . The flight captain lost control of the aircraft while climbing and the machine crashed. The cause could not be precisely clarified, incorrect handling of the control could not be ruled out. In the accident, all 20 passengers and 4 crew members were killed on board (see also the flight accident of an Avro 685 York in Gambia 1946 ) .
- On October 7, 1997, a Beechcraft BE-200 from the Spanish Naysa (EC-ERQ) with nine people on board crashed two kilometers behind the runway . There were eight victims.
See also
Web links
- http://www.gcaa.aero Official website of the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority
Individual evidence
- ↑ Craig Emms, Linda Barnett, Richard Human: The Gambia, 2nd: The Bradt Travel Guide (Bradt Travel Guide) . Bradt Travel Guides, 2006, ISBN 1-84162-137-4
- ↑ The exact end of operation has not yet been proven.
- ^ A b Philip Sweeny, Michel Renaudeau: Gambia and Senegal 1997, ISBN 3-8268-1392-8
- ↑ 200 Squadron RAF , accessed July 2011
- ↑ Flightradar24: Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map. Retrieved February 25, 2020 .
- ↑ accident report DC-3 43-15143 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on September 19 of 2019.
- ^ Accident report Avro Lancastrian G-AGWJ, Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 21, 2016.
- ↑ "23 Killed in Crash Of Plane in Africa", Pittsburgh Press , September 7, 1946, p1
- ^ Accident report Avro York G-AHEW, Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 21, 2016.
- ^ BSAA York which crashed soon after take-off at night from Yundum airfield on September 7th, 1946 , accessed July 2011
- ↑ Accident report BE King Air 200 EC-ERQ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on September 19, 2019.
- ↑ Eight Killed As Light Spanish Aircraft Crashes in Gambia Panafrican News Agency (Dakar) of October 9, 1997