Peter Zuze Air Force Base

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 15 km (9.3 mi) to the west (adjacent to the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial) and this old airport address ceased to be a commercial airport.[1][2][3] It now belongs to the Zambian Air Force.

"Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (old)" redirects here. For the commercial Airport, see Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport.
Peter Zuze Air Force Base
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
OwnerZambia Air Force
LocationNdola, Zambia
Elevation AMSL4,170 ft / 1,271 m
Coordinates12°59′50″S 28°39′50″E
Map
NLA is located in Zambia
NLA
NLA
Location of Peter Zuze Air Force Base in Zambia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10L/28R 2,515 8,251 Concrete
10R/28L 1,214 3,983 Concrete

On 30 July 2021, President Edgar Lungu decided to name this airbase after Zambia's first indigenous air commander, Peter Zuze.[1][2][3] On 5 August 2021, President Edgar Lungu commissioned the opening of the new airport[4][5] 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).[2][6][7]

History
Main article: 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.[8] In the 1950s, it was transformed into a commercial airport to serve the city of Ndola.[8] It was the location of Ndola's Airport (Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport) from the 1950s until late 2021, when it moved its operations to a new airport, also in Ndola, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of the city centre by road; just north of the Dag Hammarskjöld Crash Site Memorial.[4][9][10][11] That new airport was built to replace this airport as the main airport of the region.[9]

The new airport was engineered by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC International) at a cost of $397 million.[10][4] It was expected to be completed in Mid-2020[10] but was delayed by setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the new airport opened the following year instead.[12] While under construction, the new airport's name was Copperbelt International Airport[4][9][10][11] 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.[1][2][3] On 5 August 2021, President Edgar Lungu commissioned the opening of the new airport[4][5][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.[4][5][13][14] All operations moved from the old airport in Itawa to the new airport 15 km (9.3 mi) west of the Ndola city centre[14] (although it took about two more months for all operations to complete the relocation to the new airport[7]).[13]

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 accepted as the name of the old airport.

See also

References
  1. "Lungu renames old Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Inter. Airport to Peter Zuze Air Force Base | Zambian Eye". Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  2. "President Lungu renames old Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Inter. Airport to Peter Zuze Air Force Base". Mwebantu. 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  3. "OLD SIMON MWANSA KAPWEPWE AIRPORT RENAMED PETER ZUZE AIR FORCE BASE ~". 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  4. "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  5. "Zambia : President Lungu Commissions Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe international airport, promises to embark on Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriage as next project". 6 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  6. "Zambia : President Lungu commends defence force for maintaining peace, security". 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  7. "Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7". Zambia: Airlines to shift operations to new airport in Ndola Oct. 7 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2022-05-23.
  8. "SMKIA - Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport". www.zacl.co.zm. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  9. "Zambia : New Copperbelt International Airport under construction will bring change to the region". LusakaTimes.com. 11 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  10. "Zambia : Copperbelt International Airport to be Completed by Mid 2020". LusakaTimes.com. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  11. "African Aerospace - New Copperbelt airport set to shine". www.africanaerospace.aero. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  12. "Zambia's $522mn Copperbelt Intrn'l airport project slowed by COVID19". The Business Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  13. "Zambia: 'Ndola International Airport Ready'". allAfrica.com. 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  14. "Way: Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport (788124979)". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  15. "Zambia : Sata renames three Airports". 27 September 2011. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
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