# Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ)

> Bulawayo, ZW · IATA: BUQ · ICAO: FVJN · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `BUQ` |
| ICAO | `FVJN` |
| City | Bulawayo |
| Country | ZW |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 1329 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | -20.02125, 28.62630 |

## Description

A cargo village with cold storage, a runway stretched from 2.5 to 4.5 kilometres and a 5MW solar plant are what the Airports Company of Zimbabwe has scheduled from 2026 for Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport (BUQ, FVJN), work meant to let wide-bodies such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 serve Bulawayo. Today the airport, some 25 kilometres north of Zimbabwe's second city, already offers mechanical cargo handling, a bonded warehouse and ground handling by BidAir Cargo, with customs and immigration staffed through its 16-hour operating day. Freight moves almost entirely as belly cargo on Fastjet Zimbabwe, Airlink and Ethiopian Airlines passenger services; dedicated freighter flights are rare and no official tonnage figures are published. Passenger numbers give a sense of scale: 189,271 in 2024 against 146,628 in 2022. Road and the old north-south railway carry the surface leg, with consignments reaching South Africa through the Beitbridge border post, and many importers simply fly larger lots into Johannesburg (JNB) and truck them up. Within Zimbabwe, Harare (HRE) handles the heavier volumes and is the usual alternative, while Victoria Falls (VFA) serves the north-west.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/joshua-mqabuko-nkomo-international-airport-buq](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/joshua-mqabuko-nkomo-international-airport-buq)*

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