Sam Mbakwe Airport

Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (IATA: QOW, ICAO: DNIM), also known as Imo State Airport, serves Owerri, the capital city of Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. It is located in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area, Imo State. Other cities served by the airport are, the commercial city of Onitsha, automobile and manufacturing city of Nnewi in Anambra State, the industrial hub of Aba, Umuahia and Arochukwu in Abia State. Others are Okigwe, Oguta, and Orlu business districts in Imo State. The airport also serves some parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States in the South South part of Nigeria.

For the airport in the Central African Republic with the IATA code IMO, see Zemio Airport.
Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (SMICA)

Imo Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorFederal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
ServesOwerri, Nigeria, Aba, Nigeria, Umuahia, Nigeria
Elevation AMSL374 ft / 114 m
Coordinates5°25′35″N 7°12′20″E
Map
QOW
Location of the airport in Nigeria
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17/35 2,700 8,858 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers313,343
Passenger change 14–157.6%
WAD[1] GCM[2] Google Maps[3]

The airport is named in honor of a former governor and politician-philanthropist, the late Chief Sam Mbakwe of Imo State. It is the first state-government-built airport. The funding of the airport was by contributions and levies paid by Imo indigenes.

Navy Commodore Anthony E. Oguguo, who was military governor of Imo State from 1990 to 1992 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, commissioned the airport.

He famously said "I saw money and looked away, it is not everything; we can all do the same and teach it to our children." It was later taken over by the federal government.

Facilities

The airport underwent upgrading in 2013-14 that covered its infrastructure and the communication equipment covering the airspace past Port Harcourt Airport as part of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project.[4]

The airport has night landing capabilities, but for most flights in non-international designated airports, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria restricts night operations except for passenger flights during pilgrimage (Hajj).

The Owerri VOR-DME (Ident:OWR) is located 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) north of the airport.[5] The Owerri non-directional beacon (Ident: OW) is located 1.3 nautical miles (2.4 km) south of the airport.[6]

Currently the cargo section is undergoing expansion and should be completed by 2016.

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Peace Abuja, Kano,[7] Lagos
Arik Air Abuja, Lagos
Dana Air Abuja, Lagos

Statistics

These data show number of passengers movements into the airport, according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria's Aviation Sector Summary Reports.

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Passengers66,093345,078457,544200,097276,926476,063384,016265,082267,532338,943313,343
Growth (%) 11.05%422.11% 32.59% 56.27% 38.40% 71.91% 19.34% 30.97% 0.92% 26.69% 7.55%
Source: Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Aviation Sector Reports (2010-2013,[8] 2014,[9] Q3-Q4 of 2015,[10] and Q1-Q2 of 2016,[11])

See also

References
  1. Airport information for DNIM from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. Airport information for QOW at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. Google Maps - Owerri
  4. Nigerian Airspace Management Agency - TRACON
  5. "SkyVector: Flight Planning / Aeronautical Charts". skyvector.com. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  6. "Owerri NDB (OW) @ OurAirports". ourairports.com. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  7. Liu, Jim. "Air Peace adds Kano – Owerri from late-Nov 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  8. Passenger Only Aviation Data Report 2010-13 to Q1 2014
  9. Aviation Sector Summary Report Q4 2014 - Q1 2015
  10. NIGERIA AVIATION SECTOR Q3-Q4 2015 REPORT
  11. Nigerian Aviation Sector Summary Report: Q1-Q2 2016
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