Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro), (IATA: LAD, ICAO: FNLU) is the main international airport of Angola. It is located in the southern part of the capital Luanda, situated in the Luanda Province. Quatro de Fevereiro means 4th of February, which is an important national holiday in Angola, marking the start of the armed struggle against the Portuguese colonial regime on 4 February 1961. In 2009, about 1.8 million passengers were counted.[1]
Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro | |||||||||||||||
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Airport type | Military / Public | ||||||||||||||
Operator | ENANA EP | ||||||||||||||
Location | Luanda, Angola | ||||||||||||||
Hub for | |||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 243 ft / 74 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 08°51′30″S 13°13′52″E | ||||||||||||||
Website | luandaairport | ||||||||||||||
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![]() ![]() LAD Location of Airport in Angola Show map of Angola![]() ![]() LAD LAD (Africa) Show map of Africa | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2018) | |||||||||||||||
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The construction of the airport began in 1951, in order to serve the capital of the former-Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola. It was inaugurated in 1954, by the Portuguese President Craveiro Lopes, which in his honor, the airport was named Aeroporto Presidente Craveiro Lopes (President Craveiro Lopes Airport).
In August, September, and October 1975 the airport hosted tens of thousands of mostly white Portuguese Angolans fleeing to Lisbon (during Operation Air Bridge) who camped-out while awaiting evacuation flights during the weeks before Angola's Independence.[2][3]
Following Angola's independence from Portugal (in November 1975), the airport was renamed Aeroporto Quatro de Fevereiro Internacional (Fourth of February International Airport) to commemorate the events leading to the independence of the state.
The airport is at an elevation of 243 feet (74 m) above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 05/23 is 3,716 by 45 metres (12,192 ft × 148 ft) and 07/25 is 2,600 by 60 metres (8,530 ft × 197 ft).[4] Starting no earlier than 2022,[5] the airport will be replaced by the new Angola International Airport. Construction work has already started, but its opening was postponed due to financial difficulties on the part of the Angolan government.[6]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Luanda Quatro de Fevereiro Airport:[7]
Airlines | Destinations |
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Air France | Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
Airlink | Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo |
Brussels Airlines | Brussels, Kinshasa–N'djili[8] |
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 (resumes 9 December 2022)[9] |
TAAG Angola Airlines[7] | Abidjan, Accra (begins 9 November 2022),[10] Brazzaville, Cabinda,[11] Cape Town, Catumbela, Dundo, Durban (begins 17 November 2022),[10] Harare, Huambo, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Kinshasa–N'djili, Kuito, Lagos, Lisbon, Lubango, Luena, Lusaka, Madrid,[12] Maputo, Menongue, Moçâmedes, Ondjiva, Pointe-Noire (begins 12 December 2022),[13] Sal, São Paulo–Guarulhos, São Tomé, Saurimo, Soyo, Uíge,[14] Windhoek–Hosea Kutako Seasonal: Havana ,[15] Porto (resumes 12 December 2022)[16] |
TAP Air Portugal | Lisbon |
Turkish Airlines | Istanbul[17] |
Passengers | Change from previous year | Aircraft operations | Change from previous year | Cargo (metric tons) | Change from previous year | |
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2005 | 882,749 | ![]() | 28,382 | ![]() | 19,975 | ![]() |
2006 | 1,128,442 | ![]() | 22,213 | ![]() | 33,876 | ![]() |
2007 | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
2008 | 2,222,638 | N.A. | 68,000 | N.A. | 42,614 | N.A. |
2009 | 2,430,794 | ![]() | 65,843 | ![]() | 53,339 | ![]() |
Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Statistics (Years 2005-2009) |
Media related to Quatro de Fevereiro Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Main airports in Angola | |
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Domestic | |
Unscheduled |