Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is the largest airport in Zambia. It was previously known as Lusaka international airport. It is located in the main business district of Zambia, 27km away from the capital city Lusaka. It was renamed after the first president of the Republic of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda.
The airport is operated by the National Airports Corporation (NACL) of Zambia.
The airport has a single runway (10/28) which is 3,962m in length and paved with asphalt. The airport handled about 925,079 passengers in 2012.
Expansion and terminal features at Zambia’s main airport
The NACL announced an expansion of the airport facilities. The expansion will include construction of a new terminal building at the airport to replace the existing terminal. The new terminal will have new international arrivals and departures area. New aprons, taxiways and a control tower will also be added as part of the expansion.
The estimated investment on the project is $200m. The NACL received bids for the expansion project in January 2013.
SITA was awarded with a contract to provide check-in facilities at the airport, in June 2011. The project included providing the new common use terminal equipment (CUTE) services at check-in counters in the existing terminal. It also included providing a range of common use self-service (CUSS) check-in kiosks, which included the compact S3 free-standing kiosk.
The airport has a single passenger terminal building. Both domestic and international terminals located in the same building. The terminal has ten check-in desks, two gates and two baggage claim belts.
The facilities at the passenger terminal include a VIP lounge, post office, bank, duty free shop, cafeterias, bar and restaurants. The terminal also has a chemist shop, tourist help desk, travel agent, car rental, disabled access and a business centre.
ATC tower, runways, air and maintenance at IATA: LUN
The airport has both aerodrome and approach control centres. The ATC operations are carried out by the Department of Civil Aviation while the equipment is provided by NACL. The airport has an apron with 12 parking gates, one parallel taxiway and a number of taxiway links.
The ground handling services at the airport are provided mainly by National Airports Corporation. The services include aircraft, passenger and ramp handling. Hadid International Services, Jetex and NAC 2000 Corporation also provide certain ground handling services at the airport.
The airport has a cargo handling capacity of 9,280t per year with 9,000m² warehouse facilities. It features freighter docks, air-conditioned storage, refrigerated storage and deep freeze storage facilities. It also has X-ray equipment and all types of aircraft handling equipment.
Ground transportation / parking at Kenneth Kaunda airport
The airport has many ground transportation facilities available. Taxis are the most common form of transport available at the airport as the city centre is just 15km away. Minibus services are provided from the airport to the city centre via Great East Road. The airport also has car rental services available. The airport has more than 1,000 short-term and 100 long-term parking spaces near the terminal building.
