Sona-Pangu Airport

Location: Sona-Pangu, Kongo Central
Status: Abandoned, exact location unknown
ICAO Code: None
IATA Code: None
Coordinates: Near or at -5.506748°, 13.904340°

Sona-Pangu was once home to a large Baptist mission, established in the 1930s. The mission grounds remain visible on satellite imagery at -5.516075°, 13.908661°, featuring multiple large buildings, which likely include churches and schools.

Despite its historical significance, very little information about Sona-Pangu is available. The only known references come from colonial-era documents and a biography of a clergyman who attended school at the mission.

Sona-Pangu 1953 — Sona-Pangu Mission as seen on a 1953 map. ©Royal Museum for Central Africa

Historical Background

The history of Sona-Pangu’s airfield remains entirely unclear. While several historical maps clearly mark Sona-Pangu as a locality, none indicate the presence of an airfield in or near the mission.

The only known source referencing Sona-Pangu Airport is the 2015 MAF Airports Directory. This document lists the airfield at seemingly generic coordinates (S 05 30.00, E 013 55.00) and assigns CBZO as the operator. CBZO likely stands for Communauté Baptiste du Zaïre Ouest, suggesting that the airstrip served the Baptist mission. The directory also provides a runway designation of 01/19, indicating a north-south orientation.

Current Status (as of 2025)

There is no airfield visible at the coordinates listed in the MAF directory, indicating that the given location is inaccurate.

To investigate further, an analysis was conducted using the reported runway heading (010° or 190°) to identify flat terrain suitable for an airfield in the surrounding area. One location, at -5.506748°, 13.904340°, stands out as a possible candidate.

Today, this site is traversed by a small dirt road, but older satellite imagery reveals that the road was previously aligned slightly to the east. This suggests the possibility that the current road follows the former alignment of Sona-Pangu Airport’s runway. The following image illustrates this assumption:

Sona-Pangu 2015 — A likely candidate for the former location of Sona-Pangu Airport. The former alignment of the road is illustrated as a dashed line. The possible runway alignment is also visible.

Additionally, from a topographical perspective, an alternative location southeast of Sona-Pangu appears to offer suitable terrain for an airfield, though no evidence supports this assumption.

Sona-Pangu Airport has been completely abandoned, and no visible traces remain. Its exact former location could not be reliably determined.