Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is an
international airport
An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
located in
Chongwe District
Chongwe District is a district of Zambia, located in Lusaka Province. The capital lies at Chongwe. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 137,461 people.
Before 1997, Chongwe District, together with Kafue District
Kafue ...
, off the
Great East Road, approximately northeast of the city centre of
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
, the capital and largest city of Zambia. The airport has a capacity of 6 million and is the largest in Zambia, serving as a hub for its region. The airport serves as a hub for
Zambia Airways,
Proflight Zambia,
Royal Zambian Airlines
Royal Zambian Airlines is a regional airline in Zambia based at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and a subsidiary of Royal Air Charters, a charter company based in Lusaka, Zambia. The airline serves as a link between Zambia and its neighborin ...
, and
Mahogany Air
Mahogany Air is a Zambian regional airline based in Lusaka with its hub at Lusaka International Airport. Mahogany Air has its corporate headquarters at East Park Mall, Great East Road, Lusaka.
History
Mahogany Air is a privately owned airline wh ...
.
The airport opened in 1967 as Lusaka International Airport. It was renamed in 2011 in honour of
Kenneth Kaunda, the nation's first president.
History
In May 2012,
KLM began operating a flight three times a week between
Amsterdam and Lusaka using an
Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
. The flight was restructured later that year to also serve
Harare. In October 2014 KLM stopped operating the flight in favour of offering
codeshare flights operated by
Kenya Airways from
Nairobi.
Expansion plans
In 2015, the
government of Zambia
The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by ...
began a three-year, US$360 million expansion and improvement of the airport, with funds borrowed from the
Exim Bank of China.
The work, contracted to China Jiangxi International, involves construction of a new "two-story terminal building, 22 check-in counters, 12 border channels and six security check counters; a presidential terminal, a new air traffic control building and tower and a new hotel".
The new terminal was expected to open in 2019. Construction was substantially complete by late January 2020. The new terminal was officially opened 5 August 2021. All international flights use the new terminal, called Terminal Two, while domestic flights use the original terminal, Terminal One.
Facilities
Terminals
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport has two terminals. Terminal One has no jet bridges and is used for domestic traffic. Terminal Two, opened in August 2021, has six gates and handles all international flights.
Ground transportation
Taxis are the most common form of transport to and from the city, as it is a 15 to 20-minute ride to the city centre. There are also 2 car rental companies at the airport,
Avis
Avis is Latin for bird and may refer to:
Aviation
*Auster Avis, a 1940s four-seat light aircraft developed from the Auster Autocrat (abandoned project)
*Avro Avis, a two-seat biplane
*Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis, an early aircraft built by ...
and
Europcar, but most hotels in Lusaka have shuttle services into the airport. A bus line also goes between the airport and the
Chelston
Chelston, also Chelstone or Chakunkula, is a neighborhood in Zambia's capital city, Lusaka.
Location
Chelston is approximately , by road, northeast of downtown Lusaka, north of the highway (T4; Great East Road), between Lusaka and Chipata. To ...
bus station, but the busses do not run on a regular schedule.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
Accidents and incidents
* On 26 August 1969, a
Zambian Air Force Hawker Siddeley HS-748 lost control and crashed during takeoff. Three of the four occupants died.
*On 22 December 1974, a
Canadair CL-44D4 operated by
Tradewinds Airways
Tradewinds Airways Ltd was a British all-cargo airline. Its head office was located in Timberham House, on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, England.
History
Tradewinds was founded in November 1968 after the collapse of ...
caught fire after its nose gear collapsed during a hard landing. The fire was quickly extinguished and all of the occupants survived.
*On 14 May 1977, a
Dan-Air Services/IAS Cargo Boeing 707 crashed after the right elevator and horizontal stabilizer separated during approach. The separation was caused by metal fatigue. All six occupants died.
* On 17 February 1990, a
Zambian Air Force de Havilland Canada DHC-5D crashed into a field during approach. All 29 people on board died. This crash remains the worst aviation accident in Zambian History
See also
*
Transport in Zambia
*
List of airports in Zambia
References
External links
Kenneth Kaunda International AirportOpenStreetMap
*
{{Authority control
Airports in Zambia
Buildings and structures in Lusaka
Airports established in 1967
Lusaka