Conakry International Airport

Conakry International Airport

IATA: CKYICAO: GUCY

CKY
Location of Airport in Guinea

Summary
Airport type Public
Serves Conakry
Location Conakry, Guinea
Elevation AMSL 72 ft / 22 m
Coordinates 09°34′36.80″N 13°36′43.06″W / 9.5768889°N 13.6119611°W / 9.5768889; -13.6119611
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 10,826 3,300 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers 248,248

Conakry International Airport (IATA: CKY, ICAO: GUCY), also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport located in Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. It is divided into domestic and international terminals. A number of West African, North African and European airlines serve Conakry.

History

In the 1970s Soviet Naval Aviation was granted facilities at the airport to serve as a staging base for Atlantic maritime reconnaissance patrols by Tu-95RTs aircraft.

It was reported in 1975 that most of the Guinean air force's aircraft were based at Conakry-Gbessia airport.[2] Current air force operations are conducted out of the Conakry-Gbessia airport.

All non-ECOWAS foreigners are required to have a valid Guinean visa and a vaccination card in order to be granted entry. Yellow fever vaccination cards are verified upon entry into the country at Gbessia.

As of 2010, the airport possesses no radar and guides all planes in by sight. Night flights by European airlines require pilots to do a fly over of the runway following a near miss of a landing Air France A330 from Paris and a departing Air Senegal International Boeing 737-700 to Dakar.

The airport parking lot is also a popular destination for students preparing for exams, as it is one of the few places in the country which is freely accessible to the public and always illuminated by electric lamps.[3]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Côte d'Ivoire Abidjan[4]
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle
ASKY Airlines Bamako, Dakar, Lomé[5]
Brussels Airlines Brussels[6]
Mauritania Airlines International Dakar, Nouakchott
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca

    Renovations

    Departure Lounge – January 2012

    With a goal to increase annual passenger capacity to 1 million passengers, in 2009 renovations began on the main terminal. The airport currently has 300,000 passengers per year. Renovation costs amounted to 60 billion GNF (Around 85 million EUR).[7] The government debated in 2007 whether to relocate the Conakry Airport to Forecariah, although no official changes have been declared as of 2011.[8]

    Traditionally passengers embarked on all flights directly on the tarmac with transfers to the airport either by foot (most inter West African flights) or by buses for all European flights. The new renovations included gateways and an improved passenger departure lounge. As of January 2011, no changes have been made to the arrivals (customs and luggage carousels).

    Incidents

    References

    1. List of the busiest airports in Africa
    2. Harold D. Nelson, Area Handbook for Guinea, Department of the Army Pamphlet 550-174, 1975, p.333
    3. Callimachi, Rukmini (20 July 2007). "Students scrounge for light at Guinea airport". Seattle Times Newspaper. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
    4. http://www.aircotedivoire.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Conakry.pdf
    5. February 2015 Timetable, http://www.flyasky.com/asky/horaires/cky
    6. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/08/22/senegal-blocks-ebola-aid-flight/
    7. Info-Guinée : mountmane. Mountmane.hautetfort.com. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
    8. Conakry : Haro sur les bouchons ! | Jeuneafrique.com – le premier site d'information et d'actualité sur l'Afrique. Jeuneafrique.com (5 April 2012). Retrieved 27 June 2012.
    9. ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 9G-ADY Conakry Airport (CKY). Aviation-safety.net (13 November 2000). Retrieved 27 June 2012.
    10. Astill, James (7 July 2003). "Plane in terrorism scare turns up sporting a respray". The Guardian (London).
    11. Crash d'un Mig 21 sur la RTG à Conakry. Panapress.com. Retrieved 27 June 2012.

    External links

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