Melchior Ndadaye International Airport
Melchior Ndadaye International Airport (IATA: BJM, ICAO: HBBA) is an airport in Bujumbura, the former capital of Burundi. It is Burundi's only international airport and the only one with a paved runway.
Melchior Ndadaye International Airport Aéroport international Melchior Ndadaye | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Serves | Bujumbura, Burundi | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,582 ft / 787 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 03°19′26″S 029°19′07″E / 3.32389°S 29.31861°E | ||||||||||
| Website | aacb | ||||||||||
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  BJM Location of Airport in Burundi Placement on map is approximate | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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History
editThe airport was opened in 1952.[2] On 1 July 2019, the airport was renamed Melchior Ndadaye International Airport after the first democratically elected president of Burundi who was murdered in a coup d'état in October 1993, three months after being elected. This event sparked the decade-long Burundian Civil War.[3]
Location
editThe airport is in the extreme northwest of Bujumbura Mairie Province. It is bounded by Bujumbura Rural Province to the north and west, by the RN4 coastal highway running along the shore of Lake Tanganyika to the south, and by the Mutimbuzi River and the RN5 highway to the east. The Mpanda River, a tributary of the Ruzizi River, flows past the north end of the airport.[4]
In October 2018 the Burundi Civil Aviation Authority began dredging the Mutimbuzi River to prevent it from flooding into the airport. Drains would also be installed to prevent flooding. Removal of alluvium and other waste from the river would begin downstream and continue up to the NR5 highway from Bujumbura to Rugombo.[5] In May 2021 the Mpanda River threatened to break the dam that protects the infrastructure of the Melchior Ndadaye International Airport.[6]
Airlines and destinations
editAs of December 2018[update], the following airlines maintain regular scheduled service to Bujumbura International Airport:[7]
Passenger
edit| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Tanzania | Dar es Salaam, Kigoma[8] |
| Brussels Airlines | Brussels |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Addis Ababa |
| Kenya Airways | Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta |
| RwandAir | Kigali |
| Uganda Airlines | Entebbe[9] |
Cargo
edit| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ethiopian Airlines Cargo | Addis Ababa, Kigali[10] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Burundi tourist arrivals: are they improving?". eTN. 11 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ "AEROPORT INTERNATIONAL DE BUJUMBURA>70ème anniversaire de l'OACI". www.ppbdi.com. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ Ismaïla, NDAO Khadidiatou (1 July 2019). "Bujumbura airport named after first Burundian elected president". Panafrican News Agency. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ^ Way: Bujumbura International Airport (86783340).
- ^ Hicintuka 2018.
- ^ Isenge (2021).
- ^ "Qatar, Uganda Agree To Update Air Service Agreement". menafn.com. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Air Tanzania resumes Entebbe / Bujumbura service from late-August 2018". Routesonline.
- ^ Liu, Jim. "Uganda Airlines resumes operation from late-Aug 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
- ^ Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Schedule Archived 11 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
Sources
edit- Hicintuka, Jean-Marie (3 October 2018), "Démarrage des travaux de curage de la rivière Mutimbuzi pour protéger l'aéroport international de Bujumbura", Agence Burundaise de Presse (in French), retrieved 21 August 2024
- Isenge, Baudouin (3 May 2021), "Visite de terrain sur la digue protégeant les infrastructures de l'Aéroport International Melchior NDANDAYE.", Ministry of Finance (in French), retrieved 21 August 2024
- "Way: Bujumbura International Airport (86783340)", OpenStreetMap, retrieved 22 August 2024