Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport

"DNKN" redirects here. The term may also refer to Dunkin' Donuts.

Mallam Aminu Kano
International Airport

Filin Jirgin Saman
Mallami Aminu Kano (Hausa)
Summary
Airport typePublic/Military
Owner/OperatorFederal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
ServesKano, Nigeria
Hub for
Elevation AMSL1,562 ft / 476 m
Coordinates12°02′55″N 8°31′20″E / 12.04861°N 8.52222°E / 12.04861; 8.52222
Map
KAN is located in Nigeria
KAN
KAN
Location of the airport in Nigeria
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 2,451 8,041 Asphalt
06/24 3,301 10,830 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers389,530
Passenger change 14–15Decrease10.1%
Sources: FAAN[1] WAD[2] GCM[3]

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (Hausa: Filin Jirgin Saman Mallami Aminu Kano, IATA: KAN, ICAO: DNKN) is an international airport serving Kano, the capital city of Kano State of Nigeria. It was a Royal Air Force station before the country became independent. It is the main airport serving northern Nigeria and was named after the 20th-century politician Aminu Kano. The airport has an international and a domestic terminal. Construction started on a new domestic terminal and was commissioned on 23 May 2011. In 2009, the airport handled 323,482 passengers. The bulk of international flights cater to the large Sudanese community in Kano and Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.

History

A view of the airport in 1957 after it was newly renovated. The terminal and runway used before the one centered in the image can be seen in the top left.

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is the oldest in Nigeria, with operations starting in 1936. In the first decades of operation, it became an important fuel stop for airlines flying long-haul services between Europe and Africa. Newer aircraft did not need such fuel stops and, with the demise of the Kano economy in the late 20th century, many international airlines stopped serving the airport. When they indefinitely suspended services to Kano in June 2012, KLM was the only European airline serving the city, which they had done without interruption since 1947.[4]

Facilities

The airport serves civilian and military flights. Runway 06/24 is mainly used for civilian flights, while runway 05/23 primarily serves the Nigerian Air Force base at the south side of the airport. Runway 05/23 was in use for all operations when the main runway was rehabilitated at the beginning of the 21st century. The terminal facilities lie between the two runways.

The main terminal with the control tower serves international flights and domestic services operated by Arik Air. Facilities in the departure lounge are minimal, with a newsstand near the check-in counter and a small bar at the airside. There is a small VIP lounge for business class passengers. Duty-free shops are currently closed. There is a small bar and a post office in the arrivals hall. On the south side of the airport, along runway 06/24, is the domestic terminal currently serving operations of IRS Airlines. Facilities include a newsstand and a small bar. Construction of a new domestic terminal, adjacent to the main terminal building, started at the beginning of the 21st century. Construction was abandoned but was resumed. The operator of the airport, Federal Airports Authority Nigeria (FAAN), saw the completion of the new terminal in November 2009. It was commissioned in May 2011.[1]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aero Contractors Abuja, Lagos
Air Peace Abuja, Asaba,[5] Lagos, Niamey,[6] Owerri, Port Harcourt
Arik Air Abuja
Azman Air Abuja, Lagos
Badr Airlines Khartoum
Egyptair Cairo
Eritrean Airlines Asmara, Khartoum[7]
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
flynas Jeddah
Max Air Abuja, Benin City, Lagos
Seasonal charter: Jeddah
Qatar Airways Doha[8]
Saudia Jeddah, Medina
Sudan Airways Khartoum
Tarco Aviation Khartoum
ValueJet Abuja

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
Aerotranscargo Munich[9][better source needed]
EgyptAir Cairo[citation needed]
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Liège[citation needed]
Saudia Cargo Jeddah[citation needed]

Statistics

These data show the number of passengers' movements into the airport, according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria's Aviation Sector Summary Reports.

Annual passenger traffic at KAN airport. See Wikidata query.
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2021
Passengers 302,017 349,057 381,862 363,290 341,367 381,841 448,792 369,132 327,267 433,263 389,530 458,157 428,742 291,214
Growth (%) Increase 3.13% Increase15.58% Increase 9.40% Decrease 4.86% Decrease 6.03% Increase11.86% Increase17.53% Decrease17.75% Decrease11.34% Increase32.39% Decrease10.09% Increase17.62% Decrease6.42% Decrease32.1%
Source: Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Aviation Sector Reports (2010-2013,[10] 2014,[11] Q3-Q4 of 2015,[12] and Q1-Q2 of 2016,[13] 2017[14] 2021[15])

Incidents

  • On 24 June 1956, a BOAC four-engine Canadair C-4 Argonaut airliner crashed on departure from Kano International. Of the 45 passengers and crew on board, only 13 survived.
  • On 22 January 1973, the Kano Air Disaster occurred - an Alia Boeing 707-320C crashed at Kano International while attempting a landing in high winds. 176 of the 202 passengers and crew on board were killed. It remains the worst aviation disaster in the history of Nigeria.
  • On March 31, 1992 Trans-Air Service Flight 671 was a cargo flight from Luxembourg Airport to Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria. While flying over France on March 31, 1992, the Boeing 707 operating the flight experienced an in-flight separation of two engines on its right wing. Despite the damage to the aircraft, the pilots were able to perform an emergency landing at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base in Istres, France. All five occupants of the aircraft survived; however, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair due to a fire on the right wing.
  • On 4 May 2002, EAS Airlines Flight 4226, a BAC 1-11-500 twin-engine jet crashed upon take-off from Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, killing 73 passengers and crew on board as well as 30 more on the ground into whose houses the plane had crashed.[16]

See also

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b FAAN Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport Archived 4 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Airport information for DNKN". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF.
  3. ^ Airport information for KAN at Great Circle Mapper.
  4. ^ "KANO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – From Grace to Grass and Back Again". JetLife Nigeria. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Air Peace".[full citation needed]
  6. ^ Salau, Sulaimon (6 February 2022). "Air Peace resumes direct flights to Dubai". The Guardian Nigeria. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Eritrean Airlines adds Kano service from May 2019".
  8. ^ "Qatar Airways Announces the Start of Service to Kano and Port Harcourt in Nigeria". Qatar Airways. 11 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Aerotranscargo Flight F58822 (ATG8822)–Kano (KAN) to Munich (MUC)-1 June 2023". FlightAware.
  10. ^ Passenger Only Aviation Data Report 2010-13 to Q1 2014
  11. ^ Aviation Sector Summary Report Q4 2014 - Q1 2015
  12. ^ NIGERIA AVIATION SECTOR Q3-Q4 2015 REPORT
  13. ^ Nigerian Aviation Sector Summary Report: Q1-Q2 2016
  14. ^ "Reports | National Bureau of Statistics" (PDF). nigerianstat.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Reports | National Bureau of Statistics" (PDF). nigerianstat.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  16. ^ Nigerian Sports Minister, 146 Others Feared Dead in Air Crash Archived 13 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine