Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (SMICA) Imo Airport
IATA: QOW ICAO: DNIM
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
Serves	Owerri, Nigeria, Aba, Nigeria, Umuahia, Nigeria
Elevation AMSL	374 ft / 114 m
Coordinates	5°25′35″N 7°12′20″E / 5.42639°N 7.20556°E / 5.42639; 7.20556
Map
QOW Location of the airport in Nigeria
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 17/35 2,700 8,858 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 313,343 Passenger change 14–15 7.6%
WAD[1] GCM[2] Google Maps[3]

Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport (IATA: QOW, ICAO: DNIM), also known as Imo State Airport, serves Owerri, the capital city of Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. It is located in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area, Imo State.

The building of the airport commenced with the administration of the first civilian governor of the old Imo State (now, Imo, Abia and Southern Ebonyi states), Dee Sam Mbakwe, in 1983, from generous contributions of the indigenes and people of the state and throughout the Igbo land. It is to be noted that while this is the first state owned airport, it is worthy to acknowledge also that it is the first community driven airport project ever known, at least, in the West of Africa. The project also enjoyed immense support from successive Federal Military Governments especially under Navy Captain James N.J. Aneke, who saw to its completion, commissioning and operational commencement on 15 July 1994, under the late General Sani Abacha.

Other cities served by the airport are, the commercial city of Onitsha, automobile and manufacturing city of Nnewi in Anambra State, the industrial hub of Aba, Umuahia and Arochukwu in Abia State. Others are Okigwe, Oguta, and Orlu business districts in Imo State. The airport also serves some parts of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States in the South South (southernmost part) of Nigeria.

The airport is named after Sam Mbakwe, the first civilian governor of Imo State who started the project. As mentioned, it is the first state-government-built airport built from the support and contributions of indigenes of the state and entire Igbo land.^[4] Navy Captain James N.J. Aneke, who was the military administrator of Imo State from 9 December 1993 to 22 August 1996, completed and commissioned the airport on 15 July 1994. It was later handed over to FAAN (Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria) to be managed by the federal government.

Facilities

The airport underwent upgrading in 2013-14 that covered its infrastructure and the communication equipment covering the airspace past Port Harcourt Airport as part of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project.^[5]

The airport has night landing capabilities, but for most flights in non-international designated airports, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria restricts night operations except for passenger flights during pilgrimage (Hajj).

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

These data show number of passengers movements into the airport, according to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria's Aviation Sector Summary Reports.

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Passengers	66,093	345,078	457,544	200,097	276,926	476,063	384,016	265,082	267,532	338,943	313,343
Growth (%)	11.05%	422.11%	32.59%	56.27%	38.40%	71.91%	19.34%	30.97%	0.92%	26.69%	7.55%
Source: Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Aviation Sector Reports (2010-2013,[6] 2014,[7] Q3-Q4 of 2015,[8] and Q1-Q2 of 2016,[9])