Angola International Airport

Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto)[2] (IATA: none, ICAO: none) is an international airport currently under-construction, which will serve the capital of Angola, Luanda. It is located in Bengo Province, 40 km south-east of the city center. It will replace the city's existing Quatro de Fevereiro Airport. The lead construction company is China International Fund, which was founded in Hong Kong in 2003.[3] The company built a village named Vila Chinesa, meaning "Chinese village" in Portuguese, for the accommodation of workers and material depots.[4] Along with some Chinese contractors, the Brazilian company, Odebrecht, are constructing the airport.

Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto (Portuguese)
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Angola
OperatorEmpresa Nacional de Exploração de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ENANA)
ServesLuanda
LocationBengo Province, Angola
Hub forTAAG Angola Airlines
Elevation AMSL522 ft / 159 m
Coordinates9°2′48.4″S 13°30′25.9″E
Websiteenana.co.ao
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06L/24R 13,123 3,800 Asphalt
06R/24L 12,470 4,000 Asphalt
Source: aerobaticsweb.org [1]

The airport opening has been delayed several times due to financial difficulties faced by the Angolan government, along with similar issues also faced by the two companies building the airport. These problems forced the originally scheduled date for completion in 2012 to be postponed to 2015, and then again to 2017. It was later stated in the media that the facility would be ready to start operations around late 2022, but due to delays caused by corrections needed in the main terminal building and the COVID-19 pandemic, the opening was delayed until 2023. The airport has been regarded by many as the biggest "white elephant" in Africa for the past decade. It is the biggest airport being built from scratch in Africa during the 21st century. The airport is now expected to open by the end of 2023.[5]

Facilities

The airport is expected to have the capacity to serve 15 million passengers per year initially.

Main Terminal
Check-in hall

The passenger terminal occupies 160,00 sq.m, while the cargo terminal is 6,200 sq.m., with an annual capacity of 35,000 tonnes of cargo. The airport's site was finalised in 2004, and construction began in mid-2006. The construction costs, which are financed entirely by China, and were estimated at US$3,8 billion (2015).[6] Complementary infrastructure, such as shops, hangars, restaurants, offices and a nearby hotel are not included. The airport's total area is 50 sq.km.

The project includes the construction of a rail link to the capital, to the province of Luanda and possibly to the neighboring province of Malanje. Due to high traffic jams and in order to cope with the future traffic, the highway connection to Luanda required that the existing road from Luanda to Malanje needs a mass expansion, which is now completed, and is converted as a six-lane and four-lane highway.

Runways

The airport has two parallel runways, located 2.2 kilometres (1.3 mi) from each other, which are designed for simultaneous take-offs and landings. The first runway is 4,000 m × 60 m (13,123 ft × 200 ft) and is set to be used as the main runway for take-offs and cargo operations. The second runway is 3,800 m × 60 m (12,467 ft × 200 ft).

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
The airport has been built as a Hub for TAAG Angola Airlines

The following airlines are set to operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from the new airport once operations are transferred from the Quatro de Fevereiro Airport:

Airlines Destinations
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pointe-Noire
Airlink Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo
ASKY Airlines Lomé
Brussels Airlines Brussels, Kinshasa–N'djili
Emirates Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
Fly Angola Benguela, Dundo, Saurimo
Kenya Airways Brazzaville, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Qatar Airways Doha
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
TAAG Angola Airlines Abidjan, Accra, Brazzaville, Cabinda, Cape Town, Catumbela, Dundo, Durban (begins 16 January 2024), Harare, Huambo, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Kinshasa–N'djili, Kuito, Lagos, Lisbon, Lubango, Luena, Lusaka, Madrid, Maputo, Menongue, Moçâmedes, Ondjiva, Pointe-Noire, Sal, São Paulo–Guarulhos, São Tomé, Saurimo, Soyo, Uíge, Windhoek–Hosea Kutako

Seasonal: Havana, Porto

TAP Air Portugal Lisbon, Porto
Turkish Airlines Istanbul, Libreville

References
  1. "Airports Report Luanda". aerobaticsweb.org. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. Angolan transport minister about naming of the airport, portalangop.co.ao, retrieved 8 March 2015
  3. "Angola Delays Opening of $5 Billion Airport for the Fourth Time". Bloomberg.com. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  4. Google Maps
  5. "Angola Delays Opening of $5 Billion Airport for the Fourth Time". Bloomberg.com. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  6. (in Portuguese) Novo aeroporto de Luanda deverá ser o “mais importante” na África Central, VerAngola from 5 March 2015
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