Wadi Halfa Airport

Wadi Halfa Airport (IATA: WHF, ICAO: HSSW) is an airport serving Wadi Halfa in Sudan. The airport is approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) east of Wadi Halfa.

Wadi Halfa Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
ServesWadi Halfa
Elevation AMSL933 ft / 284 m
Coordinates21°48′00″N 31°31′00″E
Map
WHF
Location of the airport in Sudan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,000 6,562 Gravel
01/19 318 1,043 Gravel
Source: Google Maps[1] GCM[2]

History

In 1925 Alan Cobham made a first survey flight for Imperial Airways (a forerunner of British Airways) from UK to Cape Town, South Africa, stopping at Wadi Halfa on the way.[3]

In 1937 a Savoia-Marchetti S.73 flown by Ala Littoria was flying from Asmara, Eritrea to Wadi Halfa and crashed while approaching the runway at 5:30 a.m. killing all three crew and six passengers.[4] That same year, Imperial Airways commenced a flying boat service between Southampton, UK and Durban, South Africa stopping at Wadi Halfa on the way.[5]

In 1943 BOAC (a forerunner of British Airways) started a weekly flight between Cairo, Wadi Halfa and Khartoum with Lockheed 18 Lodestars.[6]

In 1952, Airwork and Hunting-Clan (the forerunners of British Caledonian Airways ) started operating a regular air service called Safari between London, UK and Entebbe, Uganda stopping at Wadi Halfa airport en route.[7] They were still running the service in 1959.[8][9]

In 1956, Ethiopian Airlines were operating a service between Addis Ababa and Athens, Greece with a fuel stop at Wadi Halfa Airport.[10]

In 1962 a Vickers 739 Viscount operated by United Arab Airlines flying from Jerusalem, Israel to Cairo, Egypt was diverted to Wadi Halfa airport because of bad weather at Cairo. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed 5 kilometres (3 miles) West of Wadi Halfa airport but the 16 passengers and crew survived.[11]

In 2012, the Sudanese government was reported to be planning to build a new airport at Wadi Halfa.[12]

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See also

References
  1. Google Map - Wadi Halfa
  2. Airport information for at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. "Explore our past: 1920 - 1929; 1925, 16 November - 13 March". British Airways. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  4. "ASN Aircraft accident Savoia-Marchetti S.73 I-SUSA Wadi Halfa Airport (WHF)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  5. "Explore our past: 1930 - 1939; 1937, 2 June". British Airways. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  6. "Explore our past: 1940 - 1949; 1943 July". British Airways. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  7. Thaxter, Dave. "Vikings into Africa". British Caledonian Airways. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  8. "Viscount Safari Africa-UK Services, timetables and fares effective October 1959". Airline Timetable Images. 1959. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  9. "Safari timetables East Africa". Airline Timetable Images. 1959. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  10. "Ethiopian Airlines, the Wonderland Route, timetable effective Jan. 1st, 1956". Airline Timetable Images. 1956. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  11. "ASN Aircraft accident Vickers 739 Viscount SU-AID Wadi Halfa Airport (WHF)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  12. Laessing, Ulf (2012-10-31). "Sudan dreams big with new airports despite crashes". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-11-18.



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