Ndola airport
| Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | FLND |
| IATA code | NLA |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 1270 m (4167 ft ) |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1938 |
| operator | National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) |
| Runways | |
| 10R / 28L | 1219 m × 23 m concrete |
| 10L / 28R | 2525 m × 46 m concrete |
The Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (until 2011 Ndola International Airport ) is an international airport in Zambia near the city of Ndola . It has been named after Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe since 2011 . In the medium term, it is to be replaced by Copperbelt International Airport , for which the first groundbreaking took place on June 25, 2017.
The airport went into operation around 1938 as a military airfield for the British Air Force. After the Royal Air Force had withdrawn from the airport, it was available. In 1958, the airport was therefore converted to a civil airport. In terms of construction, little happened at the airport over the next few decades, while the number of passengers rose steadily. This then led to an airport that was technically outdated, overloaded, not in keeping with the times and, because of its construction, was still strongly geared towards military needs and therefore could not be used optimally. That is why extensive modernization and new construction programs were announced in 2009 to make Ndola International Airport more customer-friendly.
The modernization program is funded by Zambia's national airport operator, National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) , and will cost approximately one trillion Zambian kwacha . It includes new parking facilities for cars, which account for around 70% of the budget, and a fundamental renovation of the terminal, which accounts for around 30% of the budget.
The airport is connected to many regional destinations by numerous airlines. More than 70,000 passengers use the airport every month.
Incidents
On September 18, 1961, a UN- chartered Douglas DC-6 of Transair Sweden crashed while approaching Ndola. UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld , who died in the incident, was on board the aircraft (see also the main article on the flight accident by UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld ).
Web links
Airport data from World Aero Data (English)