An airport near the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) capital, Kinshasa, that was the scene of a horrific accident in 1996 in which 350 people died has reopened to traffic, a report said on Thursday.
DRC Transport Minister Joseph Olenghankoy told DRC national radio that opening the airport to commercial traffic again has been one of the ”constant and major preoccupations” of the transitional government.
Ndolo airport was closed on January 8 1996 following an accident in which an Antonov aircraft crashed on take-off, plunging into a crowded market.
While the official death toll was put at 350, with dozens more injured, some witnesses estimated that many more died in the crash.
The runway at the airport is 1 400m in length and is therefore not long enough to allow large commercial jetliners of more than 10 tons to land there, according to the DRC’s civil aviation authority, which says it has plans to extend the runway.
Olenghankoy told national radio that the reopening of the airport will make it possible to ”relieve Ndjili international airport [in Kinshasa], which is saturated”. — Sapa-AFP