Alula Aba Nega Airport

Alula Aba Nega Airport (Tigrinya: ኣሉላ ኣባ ነጋ ዓለም ለኸ መዕረፍ ነፈርቲ) (Amharic: አሉላ አባ ነጋ ዓለም አቀፍ የአየር ማረፊያ) (IATA: MQX, ICAO: HAMK), also known as Mekelle Airport, is an airport serving Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia. The airport is located 10 km (6 miles) southeast of the city.[4]

Alula Aba Nega Airport

ኣሉላ ኣባ ነጋ ዓለም ለኸ መዕረፍ ነፈርቲ
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorEthiopian Airports Enterprise
ServesMekelle, Ethiopia
Elevation AMSL7,403 ft / 2,256 m
Coordinates13°28′02″N 039°32′00″E
Map
HAMK
Location in Ethiopia (Tigray region in red)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
11/29 3,604 11,825 Asphalt
Statistics
Passengers (2009)112,060

History

This airport was built in the late 1990s to replace an older one located 7 km (4 miles) from Mekelle. The airport was named after the famous Ethiopian military leader Ras Alula, also known as Alula Aba Nega[4] (Nega was his favorite horse, following the custom of using "Abba" plus attaching the horse's name to that of a well-known warrior's first name). He is well known (during the Yohannes Period) for his battles against Italy, the Ottoman Turks, Egypt and the Battle of Adwa (during the Minilik Period). When the airport first opened, it had one unpaved runway 3,000 metres (9,843 feet) long, with 21 flights to Addis Ababa, 4 to Shire and 2 to Humera.[5]

Facilities

The airport has an elevation of 7,406 feet (2,257 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 11/29 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,604 by 43 metres (11,824 ft × 141 ft).[1]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Ethiopian Airlines[6] Addis Ababa, Axum, Humera, Shire

Incidents

On 22 August 1982, Douglas DC-3 ET-AHP of Ethiopian Airlines was damaged beyond repair in a take-off accident.[7]

References
  1. Airport information for HAMK from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. Airport information for MQX at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. List of the busiest airports in Africa
  4. "Mekele Alula Aba Nega International Airport". Ethiopian Airports Enterprise. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Local History in Ethiopia" (PDF). The Nordic Africa Institute. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  6. "Domestic route map". Ethiopian Airlines.
  7. "ET-AHP Accident report". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
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