Peter Zuze Air Force Base Explained

Peter Zuze Air Force Base
Iata:NLA
Icao:FLND
Pushpin Map:Zambia
Pushpin Label:NLA
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Peter Zuze Air Force Base in Zambia
Type:Military
Owner:Zambia Air Force
Location:Ndola, Zambia
Elevation-F:4170
Metric-Rwy:y
R1-Number:10L/28R
R1-Length-M:2515
R1-Surface:Concrete
R2-Number:10R/28L
R2-Length-M:1214
R2-Surface:Concrete

Peter Zuze Air Force Base is an airbase located in the city of Ndola in the Copperbelt Province in northern Zambia. It used to be the premises of the Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport until late 2021, when Ndola's airport moved its operations to the west (adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial) and this old airport address ceased to be a commercial airport. It now belongs to the Zambian Air Force.

On 30 July 2021, President Edgar Lungu decided to name this airbase after Zambia's first indigenous air commander, Peter Zuze. On 5 August 2021, President Edgar Lungu commissioned the opening of the new airport[1] [2] adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial, although it took another two months for all operations to complete moving to the new Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport from the old location (Peter Zuze Air Force Base).[3] [4] The new airport officially started on 7 October 2021.

History

See also: Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport. The current location of the Peter Zuze Air Force Base (in Itawa; south-east of the city centre) was initially built as a military base for the British army in 1938.[5] In the 1950s, it was transformed into a commercial airport to serve the city of Ndola. It was officially known as Ndola Airport before President Michael Sata renamed it in 2011 in honour of Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, the nation's former vice president. Itawa was the location of Ndola's Airport from the 1950s until late 2021, when it moved its operations to a new airport, also in Ndola, approximately west of the city centre by road; just north of the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial.[6] [7] That new airport (Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport) was built to replace this airport as the main airport of the region.

The new airport was engineered by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC International) at a cost of $397 million.[8] It was expected to be completed in Mid-2020 but was delayed by setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the new airport opened the following year instead.[9] While under construction, the new airport's name was Copperbelt International Airport and was renamed to Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport upon opening.

On 30 July 2021, President Edgar Lungu declared the old airport in Itawa as an airbase (handed over to the Zambian Air Force) and renamed it the Peter Zuze Air Force Base, named after Zambia's first indigenous air commander, Peter Zuze.[10] [11] [12] On 5 August 2021, President Edgar Lungu commissioned the opening of the new airport[13] adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial and immediately, it took the name Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport from the old airport address.[14] After the President commissioned the new airport west of the Ndola city centre, it took about two more months for all operations to complete the relocation to the new airport (it officially started on 07 October 2021).

So, the name Copperbelt International Airport only applied to the new airport while it was under construction (not in use any longer) and the name Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport remained, meaning that Ndola retained the name that it has been using since 2011 to refer to its International Airport.[15] The new airport also keeps the same IATA code. Peter Zuze Air Force Base was registered as the name of the old airport in Itawa.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry CAPA. 2021-08-08. centreforaviation.com.
  2. 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.
  3. Web site: 2021-07-30 . Zambia : President Lungu commends defence force for maintaining peace, security . 2022-05-23 . en-GB.
  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: SMKIA - Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport . 2022-05-02 . www.zacl.co.zm.
  6. 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.
  7. Web site: African Aerospace - New Copperbelt airport set to shine. 5 October 2020. www.africanaerospace.aero.
  8. Web site: 6 April 2019. Zambia : Copperbelt International Airport to be Completed by Mid 2020. 5 October 2020. LusakaTimes.com. en-GB.
  9. Web site: Zambia's $522mn Copperbelt Intrn'l airport project slowed by COVID19. 5 October 2020. The Business Telegraph. en-US.
  10. Web site: Lungu renames old Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Inter. Airport to Peter Zuze Air Force Base Zambian Eye. 2021-08-08.
  11. 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.
  12. Web site: 2021-07-30. OLD SIMON MWANSA KAPWEPWE AIRPORT RENAMED PETER ZUZE AIR FORCE BASE ~. 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: Zambia : Sata renames three Airports. 27 September 2011 . 2021-10-17. en-GB.