Diori Hamani International Airport

Diori Hamani International Airport (IATA: NIM, ICAO: DRRN) is an airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger.^[3] It is located 9 km (5.6 mi) from Niamey in the south-eastern suburbs of the city, along the Route Nationale 1, the major highway linking Niamey with the east of the nation. The airport complex also includes the major base for the Armed Forces of Niger's "Armee d'Air".

Diori Hamani International Airport
IATA: NIM ICAO: DRRN
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Owner	Transports de Niamey
Operator	Summa Airports Niger SARLU
Serves	Niamey, Niger
Location	Niamey, Niger
Hub for	Niger Airlines
Elevation AMSL	732 ft / 223 m
Coordinates	13°28′54″N 002°10′13″E
Website	http://niameyairport.com
Map
NIM Location within Niger
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09R/27L 3,800 12,467 Bitumen 09L/27R 3,000 9,843 Laterite
Statistics (2013)
Passengers 165,000
Sources: Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar[1][2]

Overview

Traffic

In 2019, the airport served 363,093 passengers. The air traffic control for NIM is operated by the ASECNA, which bases one of its five air traffic zones for the continent at Niamey.^[4] The airport is named after Hamani Diori (1916–1989), the first President of Niger.^[5]

EAMAC

ASECNA operates the "African School for Meteorology and Civil Aviation/Ecole Africaine de la Météorologie et de l'Aviation Civile" at the Niamey airport complex, as well as in the Plateau quarter of Niamey city centre. Founded in 1963, EAMAC trains civil aviation professionals and aviation meteorologists from across Africa.^[6][7]

Base Aérienne 101

The Niger Air Force maintains Base Aérienne 101, which is collocated with Diori Hamani International Airport. It has been variously used by American, French, and Russian armed forces as a base for operations and training missions.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

In 2013, U.S. African Command spokesman Benjamin Benson confirmed that U.S. air operations conducted from Base Aérienne 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport were providing "support for intelligence collection with French forces conducting operations in Mali and with other partners in the region."^[13] In July 2013, The New York Times reported that the deployment had expanded from one Predator UAV to daily flights by a detachment of two larger MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, supported by 120 U.S. Air Force personnel.^[14] The MQ-9 Reapers were scheduled to be relocated to Niger Air Base 201 in 2018.^[15]

Around 2013, two Ku band arrays were constructed at the airport to allow for communication with EADS Harfang UAVs.^[16] The French Air and Space Force Escadron de Drones 1/33 Belfort operated three MQ-9 Reapers out of the base starting in January 2014 in support of Operation Barkhane.^[10] France also deployed Dassault Mirage 2000D aircraft from the French Air Forces detachment (DETAIR) to the base.^[11][17] A French Operational Transport Group was also based at the airbase as of 2020, controlling Lockheed C-130J Hercules aircraft instead of the previous Transall C-160s.^[18]

The Nigerien Air Force maintains two Cessna-208 Caravans equipped for ISTAR operations at the airport.^[19][20]

In the aftermath of the 2023 Nigerien coup d'état, both France and the United States were told to withdraw their military personnel from the country. French forces departed from the airbase in December 2023.^[21] In May 2024 Russian troops moved in to one of the airports' hangars while some U.S. troops were still on the same property, but not in same buildings.^[22][23] On 7 July 2024, the U.S. completed withdrawal of all troops from the airbase.^[24]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Afriqiyah Airways	Tripoli–Mitiga
Air Algérie	Algiers
Air Burkina	Ouagadougou
Air Côte d'Ivoire	Abidjan, Ouagadougou[25]
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle[26]
Air Senegal	Dakar–Diass (resumes 27 May 2025)[27]
ASKY Airlines	Cotonou, Lomé, Ouagadougou
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa, Ouagadougou[28]
Fly Oya	Tripoli–Mitiga
Libyan Airlines	Tripoli–Mitiga
Niger Airlines	Agadez
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca[29]
Tunisair	Abidjan, Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul,[30] N'Djamena

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at NIM airport. See Wikidata query.

Ground transportation

Road

Diori Hamani International Airport is situated on Route Nationale 1, which connects it to the city of Niamey 9 km (5.6 mi) to the northwest, as well as to Dosso, Maradi, Zinder, Goure, Diffa, and N'guigmi to the east.

Rail

The railway track passing by the airport, which connects it to Niamey railway station and Dosso, is abandoned since its construction (and will not be operational in the near future).

See also

• Transport in Niger