Kitona Air Base

The designator CD-0042 was likely deprecated and replaced by the official ICAO code FZAI for reasons of data standardization and to accurately reflect its status. The physical airport was never closed; its function transitioned from a Belgian colonial base to a primary military installation for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). Its purpose is almost exclusively military, governmental, and humanitarian, not public commercial aviation, which may have contributed to the retirement of the old code.

The site is an active and highly strategic military base for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). It is a major center for 'brassage,' the complex and often troubled process of demobilizing former rebel combatants and integrating them into the national army. The airfield, operating under ICAO code FZAI, is fully functional and regularly used by FARDC military transport aircraft and United Nations (MONUSCO) flights for logistical and personnel movements. It is not open to public commercial air traffic.

Kitona Air Base is one of the most historically significant military installations in Central Africa.
- **Belgian Colonial Era:** Established as a major metropolitan base ('Bakamet' - Base métropolitaine) for the Belgian Force Publique. It was one of the largest and most modern bases in Africa, housing elite paratrooper units and extensive training facilities.
- **Congo Crisis (1960):** The mutiny of the Force Publique garrison at Kitona against their Belgian officers in July 1960 was a pivotal event that triggered the Congo Crisis, leading to Belgian military intervention and the subsequent deployment of UN peacekeeping forces (ONUC).
- **Zaire Era:** Under Mobutu Sese Seko, it remained a critical base for the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ) and was used for training exercises, sometimes involving international partners like France and Israel.
- **Second Congo War (1998):** The base was the target of a famous and audacious airborne operation in August 1998. Rwandan and allied rebel forces secretly airlifted thousands of troops from Goma in eastern Congo to Kitona on the Atlantic coast. This surprise maneuver opened a western front that nearly led to the capture of Kinshasa and the collapse of Laurent-Désiré Kabila's government before being repelled by Angolan and Zimbabwean intervention.

There are no known official plans to reopen Kitona Air Base to regular civilian or commercial air traffic. Its current role as a primary FARDC training, integration, and logistics base makes a conversion to civilian use highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. Any potential for dual military/civilian use would require a significant shift in DRC government policy, a stable security situation, and substantial investment in passenger terminal infrastructure, none of which are currently anticipated.