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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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N'Djili Airport
N'djili Airport (IATA: FIH, ICAO: FZAA) (French: Aéroport de N'djili pronounced [a.e.ʁɔ.pɔʁ də n‿dʒi.li]), also known as N'Djili International Airport and Kinshasa International Airport, serves the city of Kinshasa and is the largest of the four international airports in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is named after the nearby Ndjili River.

History

Terminal building in 2007

The airport was inaugurated in 1959, mainly used as a secondary hub for SABENA until 1960 when the Democratic Republic of the Congo became independent, then becoming a major hub for Air Congo.

In 1998 N'Djili airport was the site of one of the decisive battles of the Second Congo War. Rebel forces advancing on Kinshasa infiltrated the airport perimeter but were repelled by Zimbabwean troops and aircraft arriving to support the government of Laurent Kabila.

In June 2015, a new international terminal was opened which can service one million passengers per year. Some computerized upgrades to the arrivals terminal have been implemented in recent years, although corruption remains a problem.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Air Congo (begins 1 December 2024) Goma, Kalemie, Kisangani, Kolwezi, Lubumbashi, Mbuji Mayi
Air Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Libreville
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Kasaï Gemena, Kananga, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi
Airlink Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo (begins 28 March 2025)
ASKY Airlines Brazzaville, Libreville, Lomé
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation Boende, Goma, Kananga, Kindu, Kisangani, Lodja, Lubumbashi, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi
Congo Airways Douala, Goma, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Kananga, Kindu, Kisangani, Lubumbashi, Mbandaka, Mbuji-Mayi, Moanda
Egyptair Cairo
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
Kenya Airways Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Qatar Airways Doha
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
Rwandair Kigali, Libreville (both suspended)
South African Airways Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
TAAG Angola Airlines Luanda
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Uganda Airlines Entebbe

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux Luxembourg
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Addis Ababa
Turkish Cargo Istanbul, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta

Accidents and incidents

  • On 18 August 1968, Douglas DC-3D 9Q-CUM of Air Congo was destroyed by fire.
  • On 28 August 1984, Vickers Viscount 9Q-CPD of Zaire Aero Service crashed after takeoff.
  • On 15 April 1997, shortly before Zaire was renamed as the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Douglas DC-3 was hijacked at N'djili Airport. There were six to eight hijackers.
  • On 13 January 2006, in the ZS-FUN, Learjet 24F accident, an Air Ambulance mission operated by SOS Air Rescue Africa, ZS-FUN was on final approach and cleared to land for a medical evacuation. Upon touchdown the left undercarriage collapsed due to a recent rain which caused an aquaplane. Both pilots and medical crew survived without injury. A secondary aircraft was dispatched after the accident to transfer the patient to Johannesburg, South Africa. The mentioned aircraft remained in Kinshasa for repairs and sold afterwards.
  • On 4 October 2007, Antonov An-26 9Q-COS of Africa One Congo crashed shortly after take-off from N'djili Airport, killing at least 51 people and injuring a further 30.
  • On 2 January 2010, Boeing 727-231F 9Q-CAA of Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation was substantially damaged when it departed the side of the runway.
  • On 21 June 2010, Hewa Bora Airways Flight 601, operated by McDonnell Douglas MD-82 9Q-COQ burst a tyre on take-off. Hydraulic systems and port engine were damaged and the nose gear did not lower when the aircraft returned to N'djili. All 110 people on board escaped uninjured. The airline blamed the state of the runway for the accident, but investigators found no fault with the runway.
  • On 4 April 2011, a Canadair CRJ-100ER 4L-GAE of Georgian Airways operating under an UN mission as flight 834 from Bangoka International Airport, Kisangani to Kinshasa missed the runway on landing at Kinshasa. The aircraft subsequently broke into pieces and caught fire. Only one survivor was reported out of 29 passengers and 4 crew. The airport was experiencing torrential rain, thunderstorms and low visibility at the time.
  • On 20 December 2018 a Gomair An-26 registration 9S-AGB crashed 19 nautical miles short of Kinshasa with 7 or 8 people on board. The aircraft was found more than 24 hours later by a local. The aircraft was carrying election materials on behalf of the Central Electoral National Independent Commission (CENI).

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ Kambale, Juakali (14 June 2010). "By the Rivers of Kinshasa Town". East African. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  2. ^ Cooper, Tom. "Zaire/DR.Congo 1980–2001". ACIG.ORG. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  3. ^ sangoyacongoactu (25 June 2015). "En direct de l ' Aeroport de N ' djili : Kabila inaugure l ' aérogare modulaire modernisée". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2018 – via YouTube.
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  12. ^ March 2014 Timetable, Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation timetable (March 2014)
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  15. ^ "April 2014 Timetable". timetables.oag.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Qatar Airways Adds Kinshasa From June 2024: NS24 Network Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  17. ^ "SAA takes off on September 23 with these routes". www.iol.co.za.
  18. ^ "TAAG Angola Route Map May 2014". www.taag.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)". Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  20. ^ Liu, Jim. "Uganda Airlines to expand Regional network in 4Q20". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  21. ^ cargolux.com - Network & Offices retrieved 31 December 2022
  22. ^ cargoethiopianairlines.com - Cargo Network retrieved 31 December 2022
  23. ^ turkishcargo.com - Flight Schedule retrieved 31 December 2022
  24. ^ "9Q-CUM Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  25. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  26. ^ "Hijacking description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  27. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Learjet 24F ZS-FUN Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport (FIH)". aviation-safety.net.
  28. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  29. ^ Hradecky, Simon (21 June 2010). "Accident: Hewa Bora MD82 at Kinshasa on Jun 21st 2010, burst tyre on takeoff, hydraulic failure, runway excursion on landing". The Aviation Herald. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014.
  30. ^ "Georgian Airways CRJ1 at Kinshasa on Apr 4th 2011, missed the runway and broke up". The Aviation herald. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  31. ^ "Crash: Gomair AN26 near Kinshasa on Dec 20th 2018, impacted terrain short of runway". Retrieved 22 December 2018.

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