Ethiopian Airlines Plane Mistakenly Landed At Airport Under Construction

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane heading to Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe airport mistakenly landed at Zambia’s airport under construction.

An Ethiopian Airlines plane has mistakenly landed at an unopened airport that is still under construction in Zambia.

According to reports, the flight is a cargo service traveling from Ethiopia and destined for Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport. But instead, it mistakenly landed at Zambia’s new Copperbelt International Airport.

The Copperbelt International Airport is about 21 kilometers (13 miles) from Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport by car.

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The transport ministry’s permanent secretary Misheck Lungu told the AFP news agency that the pilot had landed at the unopened airport “by error.”

“When he was about to land he was communicating with the radar and they told him, ‘We can’t see you,'” Lungu told AFP.

“So he used his sight as he had no control and landed at an airport still under construction.”

Ethiopian Airlines said :

“Although details of the incident are under investigation in coordination with the Zambian Aeronautical Authorities, the fact that there was no NOTAM (notice to airmen) issued regarding the construction of the new airport which has the same runway heading orientation with the existing one and the close proximity between the two airports may have contributed to the incident.”

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Ethiopian Airlines plane mistakenly landed at airport under construction

“As always Ethiopian Airlines takes flight safety very seriously and treats it as the top most priority and accordingly it will take all necessary corrective and preventive measures in line with the findings of the investigation,”

The new airport was due for completion in October 2020, according to Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL). But construction was delayed because of the pandemic, with the facility due for completion this year, ZACL told CNN.

The new airport that the plane landed at has a runway that is fully complete, ZACL added. It further said that, as of last month, the rest of the facility is at least 88% complete.

ZACL said the new airport is now due to adopt the name of the existing one — Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport.

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