Diego Garcia Air Terminal - Diego Garcia BIOT
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VQ9JC
S 07° 17.926 E 072° 23.725
43M E 212410 N 9192393
This military airport provides cargo, passenger, and special mission services for the U.S. in the Indian Ocean.
Waymark Code: WMHXBG
Location: British Indian Ocean Territory
Date Posted: 08/23/2013
Views: 3
Diego Garcia is the only populated island of several dozen that make up the Chagos Archipelago, which is about a thousand miles due south of India. The island chain is officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
The airport at Diego Garcia, BIOT has a single 12,000-foot runway (13/31) that is fully capable of supporting any kind of aircraft. While the Space Shuttle program was underway, this airport was designated as an alternative landing field for the shuttle.
The official IATA airport code for "DGar" is NKW. The island is so remote that "NKW" later on became an unofficial acronym for "Nobody Knows Where"!
As such Diego Garcia is a British-owned island, but the island was leased to the US several decades ago for use as an American air base. Several U.S. Merchant Marine ships are stationed there as part of the Navy's Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF).
All passengers fly in and out of Diego Garcia on military "hops" or on charter flights from a select few locations. There is no commercial service for the island; only persons who have travel orders authorized by the US or British government. Put another way, there are no tourists at this tropical location.
Type: Military
ICAO Airport Code: FJDG
IATA Airport Code: NKW
FAA Identifier: Not listed
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