# Diego Garcia Naval Support Facility (NKW)

> Diego Garcia, IO · IATA: NKW · Medium Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `NKW` |
| City | Diego Garcia |
| Country | IO |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 3 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | -7.31327, 72.41110 |

## Description

Diego Garcia (NKW) has served as a joint UK–US military base since the early 1970s, when the Chagossian population was removed, and it has never been open to commercial traffic: there is no civilian access and no customs clearance for trade goods. The atoll works as a strategic basing and logistics site in the central Indian Ocean, supplied by prepositioned naval supply ships in the lagoon and by military airlift rather than by freight airlines. No cargo carrier or handling agent operates at the field, so belly cargo and freighter service are equally irrelevant here. Sovereignty remains unsettled in practice: the treaty signed in May 2025 would transfer the archipelago to Mauritius while granting the UK 99 years of base rights, but it had not been ratified during 2026 and stalled in the UK Parliament, leaving Diego Garcia part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Shipments reach the island only through military procurement channels, and with the atoll lying some 1,700 km south of the southern tip of India there is no road or rail hinterland at all. Forwarders with genuine Indian Ocean traffic route via Colombo (CMB), Male (MLE) or Mauritius (MRU).

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