airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
located from downtown
Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
, the capital of the
Republic of Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast ...
in
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
. The airfield is located within the busy and thickly settled
Sinkor
Sinkor is a section of the Monrovia metropolitan area in Liberia. United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has its headquarters in Sinkor. Embassies, health facilities, and educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations are also in ...
section of the city, and is therefore convenient to the business and political districts of the capital. Whereas Roberts International Airport is the primary aviation facility for the city and indeed the entire country, Spriggs-Payne has the only other paved runway in Liberia and only other international commercial flights into and out of Liberia. The airport is named after
James Spriggs Payne
James Spriggs Payne (December 19, 1819 – January 31, 1882) served as the fourth and eighth president of Liberia, from 1868 to 1870 and from 1876 to 1878.Liberian Civil War and suffered damage during that conflict, including a rocket attack by rebels in April 1996 which destroyed several aircraft.
From 2008 until mid-2010, scheduled commercial services were operated by
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
-based Elysian Airlines. The carrier established a significant operation at Spriggs-Payne, with weekly services to
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
;
Conakry
Conakry (; ; sus, Kɔnakiri; N’ko: ߞߐߣߊߞߙߌ߫, Fula: ''Konaakiri'' 𞤑𞤮𞤲𞤢𞥄𞤳𞤭𞤪𞤭) is the capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its p ...
,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, and
Banjul
Banjul (,"Banjul" (US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...
,
The Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
with connections to onward destinations such as
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and
Douala, Cameroon
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the comm ...
. Elysian also connected the airport to several domestic destinations, with a weekly round-trip to
Harper
Harper may refer to:
Names
* Harper (name), a surname and given name
Places
;in Canada
* Harper Islands, Nunavut
*Harper, Prince Edward Island
;In the United States
*Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County
* Harper, Il ...
, and occasional stops in Greenville.
Elysian ceased operating in mid-2010, and the airport was left for a period without any scheduled commercial service. Later in 2010,
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by ...
changed its operations to Liberia, withdrawing its mainline jet services from
Robertsfield
Roberts International Airport , informally also known as ''Robertsfield'', is an international airport in the West African nation of Liberia. Located near the town of Harbel in Margibi County, the single runway airport is about outside of ...
to
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
and
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. This was quickly replaced by the services of its affiliate,
ASKY Airlines
ASKY Airlines is a private multinational passenger airline serving West and Central Africa, with its head office in Lomé, Togo and its hub at Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport.
The airline is a strategic partner of Ethiopian Airlines, ...
which began operating from Spriggs-Payne, flying initially to
Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
,
Banjul
Banjul (,"Banjul" (US) and ), officially the City of Ba ...
and
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
with onward service to its hub at
Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
. In early 2011, the Banjul service was dropped, and the Abidjan service was substituted for a weekly non-stop flight to
Bamako
Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...
.
In January 2011, newly formed Fly 6ix, initially designated as the new national airline of
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
Embraer ERJ-135
The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...
regional jet. The airline's network included twice-weekly service to Spriggs-Payne from Freetown and Conakry, with connecting service to Banjul, although the airline had ceased operations by 2012.
Spriggs-Payne underwent a runway refurbishment during 2011 and 2012, necessitating the cessation of most flight operations. During this construction, ASKY transferred its Liberia operations to Robertsfield. However, once the runway resurfacing was complete, ASKY returned to Spriggs in mid-2013, and as of April 2014 offered a daily flight to Accra with onward same-plane service to
Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437
, as well as multi-week flights to
Lungi International Airport
Freetown International Airport (officially), locally known as Lungi International Airport, is an international airport located in the coastal town of Lungi, Sierra Leone. It is the only international airport in Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Rive ...
in Sierra Leone, and a new service to Bissau. As of November 2014, Spriggs Payne Airport were suspended due to the ongoing ebola outbreak in Liberia. ASKY resumed flights to Monrovia starting November 2017.
Facilities
The airport facility consists of a collection of small, single-story buildings. The terminal itself has a passenger x-ray screening area at the entrance, a waiting room with satellite televisions, and a small bar. The airport is also equipped with immigration facilities to handle international arrivals. Elysian Airlines operates a ticket office outside the terminal building, and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
occupies several operational offices facing the airside tarmac. In fact, the primary activity at Spriggs Payne consists of UN helicopter and aircraft operations.
Accidents and incidents
*On 10 June 1978,
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
9G-AGL of West African Air Cargo was damaged beyond economic repair when the undercarriage collapsed on landing.