Tamale Airport
| Tamale Airport | |||||||||||
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| IATA: TML – ICAO: DGLE | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||||||||||
| Location | Tamale, Ghana | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 553 ft / 169 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 09°33′25″N 000°51′47″W / 9.55694°N 0.86306°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  TML Location in Ghana | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Tamale Airport (IATA: TML, ICAO: DGLE) is an airport serving Tamale, a town in the Northern Region of Ghana.[1][2] The Tamale Airport was founded as a main advanced operational base for troops during the World War 2. The landing strip was acquired at Nyohene, some two miles west of Tamale. The following buildings are in place for operational use;
- Aerodrome control tower
- Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFSS)
- Air Traffic Control Offices
- Standby generator Services
- Public places of convenience.
Initially the Airport was manned by the Airforce and used for strategic activities during the regime of Dr Nkrumah. Moscow and Havana are equidistant from this Airport.
Upgrade to international status
The Tamale Airport has now been upgraded to the status of an international airport, with all the necessary facilities. It gained international status in December 2008. The facilities put in place include, the construction of a run-way, taxi ways and aprons, a terminal, a modified fire service building, rehabilitation of the tower building, a car park and a VVIP lounge. Others are the provision of offices for the Customs, Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) and the Immigration Services.
The two contractors were Focal Roads Limited and CONSUL Limited, with BANS Consult as the consultants. The Airport has already received some international flights from South Africa, Tunisia and Angola during the CAN 2008 African Cup of nations, and it is hoped that with the addition of more facilities it would now be in the position to fly pilgrims from the north straight to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj.
Safety concerns surrounding 2016 hajj pilgrims uplift
In August 2016 Tamale International airport was cleared to uplift pilgrims to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madina in 3 batches of 500 passengers.[3] Flynas air services providers were contracted to uplift the pilgrims using leased Lion Air Boing 747-400 jets.[4][5] The use of a Low-cost carrier raised safety concerns for many. Aviation website AirlineRatings.com have consecutively rated Lion Air among world's most dangerous airlines. In 2015 Lion Air scored 1 out of seven stars in safety ratings.[6]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Africa World Airlines | Accra, Kumasi |
| Starbow Airlines | Accra |
Gallery
Tamale old airport (Nyohini) in 1929 when it was still a landing ground for Gold Coast Governors overseeing the Northern Territories
See also
References
- 1 2 Airport information for DGLE at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
- 1 2 Airport information for TML at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ↑ Nkrumah, Lorrencia (August 19, 2016). "500 Hajj pilgrims to fly to Saudi Arabia today". CitiFMonline. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Lion Air Leases Jets to Saudi Arabia's Flynas Airlines as Economy Remains Weak". JakartaGlobe. 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Saudi Arabia's flynas leasing Lion Air, Pegasus aircraft". CH-Aviation. August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
- ↑ Cable, Simon (January 23, 2015). "World's most dangerous airlines named: AirAsia included on list but Malaysia Airlines scores above average for safety". MailOnLine. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved August 20, 2016.