Harar Meda Airport

Harar Meda Airport
IATA: QHRICAO: HAHM
Summary
Airport type Military
Owner Ethiopian National Defense Force
Operator Ethiopian Air Force
Location Debre Zeyit
Elevation AMSL 6,201 ft / 1,890 m
Coordinates 8°42′59″N 39°00′21″E / 8.7163°N 39.0059°E / 8.7163; 39.0059Coordinates: 8°42′59″N 39°00′21″E / 8.7163°N 39.0059°E / 8.7163; 39.0059
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
12/30 9,540 3,179 Paved

Harar Meda Airport (Ha'rar Me'da: አባጤናደጃ ደጃደጃ) (IATA: QHR, ICAO: HAHM) is an airport in Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia. It serves as the main base for the Ethiopian Air Force.

History

In 1946, the beginnings of what would become the Ethiopian Air Force were moved from Lideta Airfield in Addis Ababa to Debre Zeyit. The former facility was instead utilized by Ethiopian Airlines. The initial group of 19 Swedes under Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen, who were to train the pilots and support personal, arrived there after leaving Sweden between 9 January and 16 July 1946. Both Ethiopian cadets and the Swedish instructors took part in constructing the first buildings on the base. Six Saab 91 Safir training airplanes were bought in Sweden and flown to the new airbase 24 December 1946. On 10 November 1947, a fleet of 16 Saab-built B-17s were landed at Bishoftu by Swedish pilots.

The airport has been used for civilian operations in the past, mainly when Bole airport was unservicable due to construction works. In 2005, the airport served 101,839 passengers.

Current use

As of 2012 satellite imagery shows a number of helicopters, fighters and transport aircraft are based here.

References

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/24/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.