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Diori Hamani International Airport

Airport in Niamey, Niger From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diori Hamani International Airportmap
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Diori Hamani International Airport (IATA: NIM, ICAO: DRRN) is an airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.[3] It is located 9 km (5.6 mi) from Niamey in the south-eastern suburbs of the city, along the Route Nationale 1, the major highway linking Niamey with the east of the nation. The airport complex also includes the major base for the Armed Forces of Niger's "Armee d'Air".

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Overview

In 2019, the airport served 363,093 passengers. The air traffic control for NIM is operated by the ASECNA, which bases one of its five air traffic zones for the continent at Niamey.[4] The airport is named after Hamani Diori (1916–1989), the first President of Niger.[5]

ASECNA operates the "African School for Meteorology and Civil Aviation/Ecole Africaine de la Météorologie et de l'Aviation Civile" at the Niamey airport complex, as well as in the Plateau quarter of Niamey city centre. Founded in 1963, EAMAC trains civil aviation professionals and aviation meteorologists from across Africa.[6][7]

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Base Aérienne 101

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The Niger Air Force maintains Base Aérienne 101, which is collocated with Diori Hamani International Airport. It has been variously used by American, French, and Russian armed forces as a base for operations and training missions.[8][9][10][11][12] The former American and French bases, both established in 2013, were located at adjacent parts of the airport.[13]

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American and Nigerien officers at the Embassy of the United States in 2018

In 2013, U.S. African Command spokesman Benjamin Benson confirmed that U.S. air operations conducted from Base Aérienne 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport were providing "support for intelligence collection with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region."[14] In July 2013, The New York Times reported that the deployment had expanded from one Predator UAV to daily flights by a detachment of two larger General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, supported by 120 U.S. Air Force personnel.[15] The MQ-9 Reapers were scheduled to be relocated to Niger Air Base 201 in 2018.[16] Italy placed troops at the American base in 2018, supporting European Union interests in the region.[17]

Around 2013, two Ku band arrays were constructed at the airport to allow for communication with EADS Harfang UAVs.[18] The French Air and Space Force Escadron de Drones 1/33 Belfort operated three MQ-9 Reapers out of the base starting in January 2014 in support of Operation Barkhane.[10] France also deployed Dassault Mirage 2000D aircraft from the French Air Forces detachment (DETAIR) to the base.[11][19] France made Niamey a centre of operations during Operation Serval of the Mali War.[20] Germany also had 50 troops in Niamey in 2020 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali.[21] A French Operational Transport Group was also based at the airbase as of 2020, controlling Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft instead of the previous Transall C-160s.[22] In 2022, French assets were moved from Gao to a forward operating base in Niamey, which had 1,000 troops garrisoned and became France's largest center of operations in West Africa.[23]

The Nigerien Air Force maintains two Cessna-208 Caravans equipped for ISTAR operations at the airport.[24][25]

In the aftermath of the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état, both France and the United States were told to withdraw their military personnel from the country. French forces departed from the airbase in December 2023.[26] In May 2024 Russian troops moved in to one of the airports' hangars while some U.S. troops were still on the same property, but not in same buildings.[27][28] On 7 July 2024, the U.S. completed withdrawal of all troops from the airbase.[29]

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Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at NIM airport. See Wikidata query.

Ground transportation

Road

Diori Hamani International Airport is situated on Route Nationale 1, which connects it to the city of Niamey 9 km (5.6 mi) to the northwest, as well as to Dosso, Maradi, Zinder, Goure, Diffa, and N'guigmi to the east.

Rail

The railway track passing by the airport, which connects it to Niamey railway station and Dosso, is abandoned since its construction (and will not be operational in the near future).

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See also

References

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