Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Ndola, Copperbelt Province (Zambia)

IATA: NLA ICAO: FLSK

Longest Active Runway

11,483 ft

3,500 meters

Field Elevation

4,308 ft

1,313 m MSL

Runway Inventory

1 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

-12.9651°, 28.5156°

LARGE AIRPORT

🏆

Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

tied #273 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#450 of 7558

Top 6.4% percentile worldwide

For airports with equal runway length, the worldwide order does not indicate a length difference.

National Standing (Zambia)

#2 of 3 in ZM

#2 of 12 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+14.8%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 NLA in numbers: 11,483 ft longest runway · tied #273 of 650 published · #450 of 7,558 worldwide (top 6.4%) · #2 in Zambia.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

⛰️

Elevation & National Context

Mid-Altitude Aerodrome (2,000–4,999 ft)

NLA lies at 1,313 m (4,308 ft), #60 of 650 published airports by elevation and 90.9 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 529 ft above the Zambia median (3,779 ft, 3 airports) and the highest published airport in the country.

🧭

Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

0 Qualifying Aerodromes in Vicinity

No published neighbour with a paved runway of 5,000 ft or more within 100 NM of NLA. Nearest published airport: Lubumbashi International Airport (FBM), 101 NM, 10,623 ft (860 ft shorter than NLA); 2 within 250 NM.

✈️

Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 11,483 ft (3,500 m)

NLA runway: 09/27 11,483 × 148 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #2 of 3 in Zambia; LUN leads by 1,515 ft (12,998 ft). +14.8% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
09/27	11,483 ft (3500 m / 3.500 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →