Jijiga Gerad Wilwal Airport

Gerad Wilwal Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorEthiopian Airports Enterprise
ServesJijiga, Ethiopia
Elevation AMSL5,937 ft / 1,810 m
Coordinates09°19′51″N 042°54′40″E / 9.33083°N 42.91111°E / 9.33083; 42.91111
Map
HAJJ is located in Ethiopia
HAJJ
HAJJ
Location in Ethiopia (Somali region in red)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Source:,[1][2] STV[3]

Gerad Wilwal Airport (IATA: JIJ, ICAO: HAJJ) (also known as Garaad Wiil-Waal Airport) is a public airport serving Jijiga, the capital city of the Somali Region in eastern Ethiopia. The airport is located at 09°19′56″N 42°54′43″E / 9.33222°N 42.91194°E / 9.33222; 42.91194 (Garaad Wiil-waal Airport (new)), which is 12 km (7 miles) east of the city.[1] It is named after seventeenth-century jigjiga ruler Garad Wiil-Waal.[4]

Jijiga's original airfield is located northwest of the city center at 09°21′38″N 42°47′16″E / 9.36056°N 42.78778°E / 9.36056; 42.78778 (Garaad Wiil-waal Airport (old)).

History

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The first airfield at Jijiga was constructed in 1929. An airplane crash at Jijiga in July 1930 involved the eighth or ninth aircraft introduced to Ethiopia; it was the second airplane disaster in the country. The plane was a Fiat AS-1 with 85 hp engine, a training airplane bought in 1929. The first tests in air pilot training in Ethiopia were passed at the Garad Wilwal Airport by Mishka Babitcheff and Asfaw Ali on 1 and 4 September 1930.[5]

By the 1990s, the Garad Wilwal Airport was one of 10 bases of the Ethiopian Air Force.[5]

Facilities

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The airport resides at an elevation of 5,937 feet (1,810 m) above mean sea level. The airport's only runway, designated 03/21, has an asphalt surface and measures 2,400 by 45 metres (7,874 ft × 148 ft).[1]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa, Gode[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Garaad Wiil-waal Airport". Ethiopian Airports Enterprise. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  2. ^ Airport information for Jijiga, Ethiopia (HAJJ / JIJ) at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ^ Airport information for Wilwal International Airport at Transport Search website.
  4. ^ Powers, Lyall (2 November 2012). Alien Heart: The Life and Work of Margaret Laurence. Univ. of Manitoba Press. p. 127. ISBN 9780887553110.
  5. ^ a b "Local History in Ethiopia" (PDF). The Nordic Africa Institute. Retrieved 31 May 2008.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Domestic Scheduled Services". Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  7. ^ "List of destinations & airlines from Jijiga Airport". FlightsFrom.com.
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