Departure
99%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Solwezi Airport (FLSW) is a public airfield serving Solwezi, the capital of Zambia's North-Western Province, and is notable for a long single runway that was extended to take Boeing 737-sized traffic during the region's mining boom. For a simulator pilot it offers a straightforward long-runway approach into a remote provincial hub, with regional airline traffic linking it to Lusaka.
Solwezi Airport lies on the edge of Solwezi, the largest city in Zambia's North-Western Province, and functions as the province's principal airfield. It was substantially upgraded by Kansanshi Mining PLC, which extended the original short strip into a runway long enough to handle Boeing 737 operations, transforming what had been a modest 1,200 metre airstrip into a capable regional airport. For a visiting VFR or IFR pilot it is a useful waypoint in this part of Zambia, combining a generous runway length with a quiet, largely uncontrolled operating environment typical of provincial African airfields.
The airport sits a few kilometres north of the T5, the main road through the area, and is located approximately 4 kilometres northwest of Solwezi city centre in North-Western Province, Zambia.
Solwezi has a single physical runway, 08/26, measuring 8,829 feet in length with a hard surface and runway lighting. This generous length reflects the upgrade carried out to allow larger jet aircraft, including the Boeing 737, to use the field.
No communications frequencies are published for Solwezi Airport. The field is served by a non-directional beacon, identifier SW, located on the airport to assist inbound navigation; there is no ILS.
The T5 road, the main highway running through the area, passes a few kilometres south of the airfield and can serve as a useful lead-in feature, with Solwezi city centre visible some 4 kilometres to the southeast of the airport.
The airfield originally had a short, roughly 1,200 metre runway unable to accommodate large aircraft. Following the mining boom in North-Western Province, Kansanshi Mining PLC funded an upgrade that extended the runway to its current length, complete with paved overruns of 115 metres on the eastern end and 65 metres on the western end to guard against runway excursions. This enabled Proflight Zambia to introduce British Aerospace Jetstream 41 services, and more recently the revived Zambia Airways began operating Dash 8-400 flights to the airport.
Solwezi Airport continues to handle scheduled regional airline services, with Proflight Zambia operating flights to Lusaka and Zambia Airways serving Lusaka and Kalumbila Airport with Dash 8-400 aircraft. It remains the principal airport for North-Western Province and the main air link for the city of Solwezi.
