Manda Airport (IATA: LAU, ICAO: HKLU), also called Lamu Airport, is an airport in Kenya.
Location
Manda Airport is located on Manda Island in the Lamu Archipelago of Lamu County on the western shore of the Indian Ocean, on the Kenya coast.
Its location is approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi), by air, southeast of Nairobi International Airport, the country’s largest civilian airport. The geographic coordinates of this airport are: 2° 14′ 46.00″S, 40° 54′ 36.00″E (Latitude: -2.246110; Longitude: 40.910000).
Overview
Manda Airport is a small civilian airport on Manda Island, serving the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya. Situated at 6 metres (20 ft) above sea level, the airport has two runways. The first runway (15/33) is paved with asphalt and measures 6,330 feet (1,930 m) in length and 100 feet (30 m) in width. The second runway (08/26) is unpaved and is 3,054 feet (931 m) long and 46 feet (14 m) wide.
Airlines and destinations
Accidents and incidents
On 14 October 2003 at about 9.00 am local time, a Cessna 208 Caravan I owned and operated by Airkenya Express, with one pilot and no passengers, took off from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, headed for Manda Airport in Lamu, approximately 450 kilometres (280 mi), by air, to the southeast. Soon after becoming airborne, the aircraft lost height, crash-landed in Nairobi National Park and overturned. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was written off.
The airport is near the Camp Simba US naval base. Al-Shabaab militants attacked the base in January 2020. The airport was temporarily closed.
