Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport

Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Dr. António Agostinho Neto) (IATA: NBJ, ICAO: FNBJ), informally Novo Aeroporto Internacional de Luanda (NAIL), is an international airport serving the capital of Angola, Luanda. It is located in Bom Jesus, municipality of Ícolo e Bengo, Luanda Province, Angola 40 km south-east of the city center. With capacity to handle 15 million passengers annually, and with significant cargo capacity, it will gradually replace the city's existing Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, which will remain open for non-commercial air services, maintenance, and training.

Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport Aeroporto Internacional Dr. António Agostinho Neto (Portuguese)
IATA: NBJ ICAO: FNBJ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Angola
Operator	Empresa Nacional de Exploração de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea (ENANA)
Serves	Luanda
Location	Bom Jesus, municipality of Ícolo e Bengo, Luanda Province, Angola
Hub for	TAAG Angola Airlines
Elevation AMSL	522 ft / 159 m
Coordinates	9°2′48.4″S 13°30′25.9″E
Website	[1]
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 06L/24R 13,123 3,800 Asphalt 06R/24L 12,470 4,000 Asphalt
Source: aerobaticsweb.org

The opening has been delayed several times due to financial difficulties faced by the government and the two companies building the airport. The original date for completion in 2012 was postponed to 2015 and then again to 2017. The facility was set to open in 2022, but as a result of construction delays and the COVID-19 pandemic, this was delayed to 2023. It was officially inaugurated on November 10, 2023. Flight operations began slowly, as the first cargo flight was on 19 December 2023, and only 32 cargo flights were completed by 20 February 2024.

Domestic passenger flights are planned to begin in March 2024, and all international passenger services are expected to use the new airport by mid-July 2024.

The lead construction company is China International Fund, in partnership with Brazilian company Odebrecht. 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 in the 21st century.

The five busiest airports in Africa handle 7.5 to 28 million passengers per year, of which three have direct flights from Luanda. The older Luanda airport served 5.6 million in 2018.

Facilities

The airport is expected to have an initial capacity to handle 15 million passengers and 35,000 tonnes of cargo per year.

Main terminal

Check-in hall

The passenger terminal occupies 160,000 sq.m, while the cargo terminal is 6,200 sq.m., on a precinct with a total area of 50 sq.km.

The site was selected in 2004 and construction began in mid-2006. Construction costs, which are financed entirely by China, were estimated at US$3,8 billion (2015). This does not include complementary infrastructure, such as shops, hangars, restaurants, offices and a nearby hotel.

The project includes the construction of a rail link to the capital. 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. The first runway is 4,000 m × 60 m (13,123 ft × 200 ft). The second runway is 3,800 m × 60 m (12,467 ft × 200 ft).

External links

• Homepage China International Fund Limited (en)
• First images published of new Luanda Airport 28 March 2009
• Report Angonoticias (pt)
• Angola Acontece (pt)
• Minister: New Airport works delayed 15. November 2007
• Angola International Airport Google Maps, March 2013