Tamale International Airport

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Tamale International Airport
Summary
Airport typeCivilian & Military
OperatorGhana Airports Company Limited
LocationTamale, Ghana
Elevation AMSL553 ft / 169 m
Coordinates09°33′25″N 00°51′47″W / 9.55694°N 0.86306°W / 9.55694; -0.86306
Map
TML is located in Ghana
TML
TML
Location in Ghana
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05/23 3,400 11,199 Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
Passengers217,958

Tamale International Airport (IATA: TML, ICAO: DGLE) is an airport serving Tamale, a city in the Northern Region of Ghana. It was established in December 1940 serving as the landing of military troops during the World War II. It is the third international airport in the country in addition to Kotoka International Airport and Kumasi International Airport, but, as of 2024, it lacked international flights. TML is the third-busiest airport in Ghana, with 148,548 passengers in 2020[1] and 217,958 passengers in 2021.[2] The airport was initially staffed by the Air Force, but over time, aid was sought from GCAA to provide personnel for telecommunications, as well as to assume care of the RFFS and Air Traffic Services.[3]

Location

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The airport is located in the northern part of the city of Tamale, approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of the city centre off of Highway N10.[4] The geographical coordinates of the airport are:9°33'25.0"N, 0°51'47.0"W (Latitude:9.556944; Longitude:-0.863056).[5] The airport is located approximately 553 feet (169 m) above mean sea level.[6]

Upgrade to international status

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The Tamale Airport was upgraded to the status of an international airport in two phases; Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Phase 1

In preparation for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (20 January 2008 to 10 February 2008) and with a budget of US$4.2 million, this airport was upgraded by: resurfacing the single runway, the taxiways and aprons, upgrading the terminal building, constructing a modified fire service building, rehabilitation of the tower building, paving of an outside car park and creation of a VVIP lounge. In addition, provisions for Immigration and Customs Services were made. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor was a joint venture between Focal Roads Limited and CONSUL Limited. The owner's consulting engineer was BANS Consult. During the CAN 2008 African Cup of Nations, the airport serviced direct flights between Ghana and Angola, South Africa and Tunisia.[7]

Phase 2

The second phase which started in July 2019 included the following components:[8]

  • Construction of a terminal building, measuring 5,000 square metres (54,000 sq ft), capable of handling 400,000 passengers annually.
  • Construction of a VIP lounge.
  • Construction of two boarding gates.
  • Construction of two self-service check-in kiosks.
  • Construction of eight check-in desks.
  • Construction of airline offices and commercial retail spaces.
  • Construction of a car park that can accommodate 330 cars.
  • A new 5-kilometer road network off the Tamale-Bolgatanga road was constructed to ease airport accessibility.

The second phase of expansion concluded in August 2023 at a budgeted cost of US$70 million. Part of that cost, amounting to US$55.7 million, was borrowed by the Ghanaian government from the UK Export Finance. The EPC contractor was the United Kingdom subsidiary of the Brazilian multinational company Queiroz Galvão.[8][9][10]

2016 Hajj pilgrims uplift

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In August 2016, Tamale International airport was cleared to uplift first flight of pilgrims to Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madina in three batches of 500 passengers.[11] Flynas air services providers were contracted to uplift the pilgrims using leased Lion Air Boeing 747-400 jets.[12] The upgraded airport also serviced Hajj pilgrimage flights in 2022 and 2023.[8] Tamale Airport now acts as an alternative to Kotoka International Airport, with the ability to handle wide-body aircraft in the event of an emergency at KIA.[13]

Airlines and destinations

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Africa World Airlines ERJ-145 at Tamale Airport

Passenger

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AirlinesDestinations
Africa World Airlines Accra
Passion Air Accra

Statistics

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These data show number of passengers movements into the airport, according to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.

Annual passenger traffic at TML airport. See Wikidata query.
Year 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Passengers 172,294 135,941 120,907 152,425 137,496 196,600 148,545 207,216 217,958
Reference [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [1] [1] [2] [15]

Accidents and incidents

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The damaged 9G-SBB on display near Tamale
  • On 16 August 2013, an Antrak Air ATR 72 from Tamale to Accra made an emergency landing back at Tamale after the crew received a fire indication warning for the left engine. No injuries were reported.[16]
  • On 6 October 2015, a Starbow BAe 146-300 (9G-SBB) from Accra to Tamale over ran the end of runway 23 on landing resulting in the collapse of the nose gear. There were no major injuries, but the aircraft sustained significant damage and was written off.[17]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c GCAA (July 2021). "Tamale Airport Passenger Data For 2020" (PDF). Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b GCAA (July 2022). "Traffic Statistics For Domestic Airports In 2021" (PDF). Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Tamale Airport – GACL". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Road Distance Between Tamale City Centre, Northern Ghana And Tamale International Airport, Ghana" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Location of Tamale International Airport" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  6. ^ ADC (25 August 2023). "Elevation of Tamale International Airport". Airport Distance Calculator (ADC). Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  7. ^ Ghana News Agency (17 December 2008). "Tamale Airport upgraded to international status". Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Mienyeseighe Atalawei (25 August 2023). "Second phase of Tamale International Airport commissioned". Construction Review Online. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Tamale International Airport to open up more avenues in Ghana's aviation sector – GACL MD". Ghanaweb.com. Accra, Ghana. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  10. ^ Mohammed Fugu (22 August 2023). "Ghana now has a fully functional international airport in Tamale". Daily Graphic (Ghana). Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  11. ^ Lorrencia Nkrumah (19 August 2016). "500 Hajj pilgrims to fly to Saudi Arabia today". 97.3 CitiFMonline. Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Flynas leasing Lion Air, Pegasus aircraft". CH-Aviation. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  13. ^ "Tamale Airport – GACL". Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e GCAA (2018). "Domestic-Passengers Numbers 2014 To 2017" (PDF). Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  15. ^ GCAA (July 2023). "Domestic Passenger Numbers For 2022" (PDF). Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Accra, Ghana. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Incident: Antrak AT72 at Tamale on Aug 16th 2013, engine fire". Aviation Herald.
  17. ^ "Accident: Starbow B463 at Tamale on Oct 6th 2015, overran runway, nose gear collapsed". Aviation Herald.
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