(CNN) – An Ethiopian Airlines plane mistakenly landed at an unopened airport still under construction in Zambia, the carrier confirmed on Monday.
The flight – a freight service traveling from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and to Ndola, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport – landed on Sunday at Zambia’s new Copperbelt International Airport, which has not yet opened, the airline said in a statement.
The flight – ET 3891 – landed safely at the new airport, Ethiopian Airlines added.
Copperbelt International Airport is approximately 21 kilometers (13 miles) from Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport by car.
The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Misheck Lungu, told AFP that the pilot landed at the unopened airport “by mistake”.
“When he was about to land, he communicated with the radar and they told him, ‘We can’t see you,'” Lungu told AFP.
“So he used his sight because he had no control and landed at an airport still under construction.”
Ethiopian Airlines said: “Although details of the incident are being investigated in coordination with Zambian aviation authorities, the fact that no NOTAM (aviator notification) has been issued regarding the construction of the new airport that has the same runway orientation as the existing one and the proximity between the two airports could have contributed to the incident. ”
“As always, Ethiopian Airlines takes flight safety seriously and treats it as a top priority and will therefore take all necessary corrective and preventive measures in accordance with the findings of the investigation,” the statement added.
The new airport was due to be completed in October 2020, according to Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL), which manages the country’s international airports. But construction was delayed due to the pandemic, and the installation is to be completed this year, ZACL told CNN.
The new airport where the plane landed has a completely complete runway, added ZACL and, starting last month, the rest of the installation is completed with at least 88%.
ZACL said that the new airport, which was originally to be called Copperbelt International Airport, will now adopt the name of the existing one – Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport – the original site returning to its original name Ndola International Airport and no longer used for commercial flights .