Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport Explained

Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport
Iata:NLA
Icao:FLSK
Type:Public
Owner:Government of the Republic of Zambia
City-Served:Ndola and Kitwe
Location:Ndola, Zambia
Utc:UTC+2
Pushpin Map:Zambia
R1-Number:09/27
R1-Length-F:11,483
R1-Length-M:3,500

Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport is an international airport located in Ndola, Copperbelt Province, Zambia. It was officially known as Ndola Airport before being renamed in 2011 in honour of Simon Kapwepwe, the nation's former vice president.[1] It is located adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial about 15km (09miles) west of the city centre.[2] [3] [4] It is accessed by using the Dag Hammarskjöld Memorial Access Road off the T3 road (Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway).

The original Ndola Airport in Itawa (opened in the 1950s) was built to serve the city of Ndola, the administrative capital of the Copperbelt province. However, as the relocated Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport opened in 2021, it now serves the cities of Kitwe and Ndola in the Copperbelt, Zambia's 2nd and 3rd most populous cities. It additionally handles domestic, regional and international flights for both passengers and cargo.

In late 2021, the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport moved its operations to its current location adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Memorial from its previous location in Ndola's Itawa suburb. This new airport was engineered by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC International) at a cost of $397 million.[5] It was expected to be completed in Mid-2020 but was delayed by setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why it opened the following year.[6]

History

Before August 2021, the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport was at an old location, in the Itawa suburb of Ndola (south-east of the city centre). Ndola's airport in Itawa officially became a civilian airport in the 1950s after first being used as a military base.[7] Previously, it was known as Ndola Airport and in September 2011, President Michael Sata decided to rename the airport in honour of Simon Kapwepwe, the nation's former vice-president.

On 5 August 2021, Ndola's airport was officially moved from Itawa to a new address, 15 kilometres west of the city centre, just north of the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial, which is its current address. While under construction, the airport's current location was known as the Copperbelt International Airport until construction finished in August 2021,[8] [9] [10] when it was commissioned by President Edgar Lungu.[11] [12] [13] [14] At that point, it was renamed Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport, the name of the original airport. The new airport also retained the same IATA code (NLA).

The new airport was engineered by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC International) at a cost of $397 million. It was expected to be completed in Mid-2020 but was delayed by setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 5 August 2021, President Edgar Lungu commissioned the opening of the new airport, although it took about two more months for all operations to complete moving from the old airport to the new airport 15 kilometres west of the city centre. The airport started operations on 7 October 2021.

As such, the old airport in the Itawa suburb is no-longer a commercial airport (no-longer named SMK International) and now belongs to the Zambian Air Force. On 30 July 2021, President Edgar Lungu gave the old airport location a name, Peter Zuze Air Force Base, named after Zambia's first indigenous air commander.[15] [16] [17] Ndola remains having one commercial airport.

Location

The airport is located adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial and Ndola Girls Technical Secondary School in the western part of Ndola District. It is reachable, by road, using the Dag Hammarskjöld Memorial access road, off the Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway. It is approximately 15 kilometres west of Ndola city centre by road.[18]

Facilities

The airport has a single runway, designated 09/27 and 3500m (11,500feet) in length.[19]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines have scheduled passenger service at Ndola International airport:

Accidents and incidents

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zambia : Sata renames three Airports. 27 September 2011 . 2021-10-17. en-GB.
  2. Web site: Copperbelt International Airport . 7 October 2020 . . en.
  3. Web site: Dag Hammarskjöld Memorial. 7 October 2020. OpenStreetMap. en.
  4. Web site: Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7 . 2022-05-23 . Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7 Crisis24 . en.
  5. Web site: 6 April 2019. Zambia : Copperbelt International Airport to be Completed by Mid 2020. 5 October 2020. LusakaTimes.com. en-GB.
  6. Web site: Zambia's $522mn Copperbelt Intrn'l airport project slowed by COVID19. 5 October 2020. The Business Telegraph. en-US.
  7. Web site: SMKIA - Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport . 2022-05-02 . www.zacl.co.zm.
  8. Web site: New Ndola/Copperbelt International Airport New Airport Profile CAPA . 5 October 2020 . centreforaviation.com.
  9. Web site: 11 July 2020 . Zambia : New Copperbelt International Airport under construction will bring change to the region . 5 October 2020 . LusakaTimes.com . en-GB.
  10. Web site: African Aerospace - New Copperbelt airport set to shine . 5 October 2020 . www.africanaerospace.aero.
  11. Web site: News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry CAPA . 2021-08-08 . centreforaviation.com.
  12. Web site: Zambia : President Lungu Commissions Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe international airport, promises to embark on Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriage as next project . 6 August 2021 . 2021-08-08 . en-GB.
  13. Web site: 2021-07-30 . Zambia: 'Ndola International Airport Ready' . 2021-08-08 . allAfrica.com . en.
  14. Web site: Way: Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (788124979) . 2021-08-08 . OpenStreetMap . en.
  15. Web site: Lungu renames old Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Inter. Airport to Peter Zuze Air Force Base Zambian Eye . 2021-08-08.
  16. Web site: 2021-07-30 . President Lungu renames old Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Inter. Airport to Peter Zuze Air Force Base . 2021-08-08 . Mwebantu . en-US.
  17. Web site: 2021-07-30 . OLD SIMON MWANSA KAPWEPWE AIRPORT RENAMED PETER ZUZE AIR FORCE BASE ~ . 2021-08-08 . en-GB.
  18. Web site: Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7 . 2022-05-23 . Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7 Crisis24 . en.
  19. Web site: Incident: Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, landed at airport under construction . Simon . Hradecky . Aviation Herald . 5 April 2021 . 6 April 2021.
  20. News: Borger . Julian . 26 September 2017 . Plane crash that killed UN boss 'may have been caused by aircraft attack' . The Guardian . 26 September 2017.
  21. Web site: Dag Hammarskjold Memorial Ndola, Zambia Attractions . 2020-05-25 . Lonely Planet . en.
  22. Web site: Incident: Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, landed at airport under construction . Simon . Hradecky . Aviation Herald . 5 April 2021 . 6 April 2021.
  23. Web site: Incident: Ethiopian B738 at Ndola on Apr 4th 2021, approached airport under construction and went around from 50 feet AGL . Simon . Hradecky . Aviation Herald . 5 April 2021 . 6 April 2021.
  24. Web site: Oops: Ethiopian Airlines 737 Lands At Wrong Airport . One Mile at a Time . 4 April 2021 . 5 April 2021. Ben Schlappig.

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