Kufra Airport
| Kufra Airport مطار الكفرة | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: AKF – ICAO: HLKF | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau | ||
| Serves | Kufra, Libya | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 417 m / 1,368 ft | ||
| Coordinates | 24°10′43″N 023°18′50″E / 24.17861°N 23.31389°ECoordinates: 24°10′43″N 023°18′50″E / 24.17861°N 23.31389°E | ||
| Map | |||
  AKF | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 02R/20L | 3,660 | 12,008 | Asphalt |
| 02L/20R | 3,660 | 12,008 | Asphalt |
| Sources: WAD,[1] STV[2] | |||
Kufra Airport (IATA: AKF, ICAO: HLKF) is an airport in Kufra, southeastern Libya.
History
Kufra Airport began as Buma Airfield, built in the 1930s as a minor facility by the Italians. In early World War II, it provided an air link to Italian East Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland). It was captured by Free French units under General Leclerc on 1 March 1941 along with Kufra Oasis.
On 26 August 2008, a hijacked Sudanese Boeing 737 landed at Kufra Airport after having departed at Nyala Airport, Darfur, with destination Khartoum.[3][4] Earlier, Egyptian authorities had refused the plane to land in their national capital, Cairo.[5]
In July 2013 the airport received its first flight in nine years, a Libyan Airlines plane being the inaugural. During the same month a 2010 contract with Italian company Salini Costruttori to upgrade the airport's runway and taxiways (put on hold due to the 2011 civil war) was reactivated and the works are slated to take 20 months.[6]
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Libyan Airlines | Benghazi, Tripoli (resumes 05 July) |
References
- ↑ Airport information for HLKF at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
- ↑ Airport information for Kufra Airport at Search (for) Travel website.
- ↑ Staff (27 August 2008) "Hijacker free passengers from Sudanese plane forced to land in Libya - but keep crew prisoner" Daily Mail
- ↑ Staff (27 August 2008) "Sudan plane hijackers surrender freeing all passengers" The Guardian
- ↑ Staff (27 August 2008) "Sudan plane hijackers surrender" BBC News
- ↑ http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/07/30/kufra-airport-upgrade-contract-activated-with-italian-company/#axzz2qEQ4yKb0
External links
- Accident history for AKF at Aviation Safety Network
- "Airport Kufra" Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.
