(CNN) – An Ethiopian Airlines plane accidentally landed at an unopened airport still under construction in Zambia, the airline confirmed Monday.
The flight – a cargo service operating from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and destined for Ndola, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport – landed Sunday at Zambia’s new Copperbelt International Airport, which has not yet been inaugurated, the airline said in a statement.
The flight – ET 3891 – made a safe landing at the new airport, Ethiopian Airlines added.
The 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 news agency that the pilot had ‘accidentally’ landed at the unopened airport.
“When he was about to land, he communicated with the radar and they said to him, ‘We can’t see you,'” Lungu told AFP.
“So he used his eyesight because he had no control and landed at an airport that was still under construction.”
Ethiopian Airlines said: “ Although the details of the incident are being investigated in conjunction with the Zambian aviation authorities, the fact is that no NOTAM (notice to pilots) has been issued regarding the construction of the new airport which will have the same runway direction as the existing and proximity between the two airports may have contributed to the incident. ”
“As always, Ethiopian Airlines takes flight safety very seriously and treats it as a top priority and will therefore take all necessary corrective and preventive action in accordance with the findings of the investigation,” the statement added.
The new airport should be completed by 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 facility should be completed this year, ZACL told CNN.
The new airport the plane has landed on has a runway that is fully completed, ZACL added, and the rest of the facility has been at least 88% complete as of last month.
ZACL said the new airport, which was initially called Copperbelt International Airport, will now take the name of the existing airport – Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport – with its original location reverting to its original name Ndola International Airport and no longer being used for commercial flights.