Longest runways in the world: Windhoek Airport in 18th place

One of the 20 airports with the longest runways in the world: Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) east of Windhoek in central Namibia.  Photo (November 2018): Hp. Baumeler, Wikipedia

The runway at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) near Windhoek is more than 4.5 kilometres long. According to the digital encyclopaedia Wikipedia, this puts it in 18th place worldwide.

This was the result of a blitz research by Namibian.org following a report by the aviation portal Aviation A2Z. There, the Namibian airport had been incorrectly listed among the top 10 airports with the longest runways.

Namibia is among the twelve countries with the longest airport runways. Russia (Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport - 5,000 m) and China (Shigatse Peace Airport - 5,000 m) rank first. They are followed by Brazil (Embraer Unidade Gavião Peixoto Airport - 4,967 m), South Africa (Upington Airport – 4,900 m) and the USA (Denver International Airport – 4,877 m).

Wikipedia states that the exact length of the HKIA runway is 4,532 metres. That is more than twice the approximately 2,000 metres required by an Airbus A 330 to take off and land. Discover Airlines flies to HKIA ten times a week with this type of aircraft.

The runway at HKIA also offers plenty of leeway for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This aircraft, used by Ethiopian Airlines when demand is high, usually needs 2,400 metres.

However, Windhoek Airport is 1,719 metres above sea level. This is particularly important during take-off. The higher an airport is, the thinner and less buoyant the air.

Sven-Eric Stender