Airport comments for Africa

Comments 1,451 to 1,456 of 1,463

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website

It would be quite useful if, like any normal International Airport, this one had a website showing the very usual information like destinations and air lines using it

Bill Fahy (Ireland)

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Famous raid

This airport was made famous by Operation Entebbe in 1976, with the rescue of a hijacked Air France airliner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Entebbe

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Lodging

Stay at the Riu Funana all inclusive resort. All meals and booze are included in the room price. It's a beautiful place and only one of two places I would stay at Sal. The rest of the island is barren and primitive...like Mars.

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Kinshasa's other airport

According to an interesting article in Vanity Fair's July 2007 issue ("Congo from the Cockpit" by pilot/writer William Langewiesche) this aiport lies in the centre of town. When he lands, there are people walking across the runway, carrying items on their heads, apparently oblivious to the plane landing. People grow vegetables in the grass near the runway, soldiers have taken over some of the empty hangars, and their children play among the moving airplanes, unconcerned about the danger. A very interesting article.

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Designated Emergency Landing for US Space Shuttle

According to an article in Vanity Fair's July 2007 issue ("Congo from the Cockpit" by pilot/writer William Langewiesche) the single, 15,420-foot runway, is designated by the US as an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle. According to Langewiesche, the ramp is crowded with "decrepit jets that are too fragile for the country's dirt strips, but can manage the paved runways of eastern and southern Congo." Interesting article to read.

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Runway full of potholes

An interesting article in Vanity Fair's July 2007 issue called "Congo from the Cockpit" by pilot/writer William Langewiesche describes the runway as asphalt, but "jarring", as pilots have to "pick our holes". The article is definitely worth reading, as the conditions some of these pilots fly under are pretty extreme.