Blaise Diagne International Airport

Blaise Diagne International Airport (French: Aéroport international Blaise-Diagne), (IATA: DSS, ICAO: GOBD) is an international airport near the town of Diass in Thiès Region, Senegal, 43 km (27 mi) east of downtown Dakar. It serves as the main airport for Dakar, replacing Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport, which had become too small. It is named after Blaise Diagne, the first black African elected to France's parliament in 1914. Regular flights are operated to destinations across many parts of Africa, as well as to Europe, Macaronesia, the Middle East, and the United States.

Blaise Diagne International Airport Aéroport international Blaise-Diagne
IATA: DSS ICAO: GOBD
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Senegal
Operator	Summa-Limak
Serves	Dakar
Location	Ndiass, Thiès Region, Senegal
Opened	December 7, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-12-07)
Hub for	Air Senegal Transair
Elevation AMSL	289.59 ft / 88.27 m
Coordinates	14°40′16″N 17°4′1″W
Website	www.dakaraeroport.com
Map
DSS/GOBD Location of airport in Senegal
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 01/19 3,500 11,483 Asphalt

History

Apron view

Departures Hall

The airport was originally expected to be operational at the end of the year 2011,^[1] but this date was pushed back by almost a year in September of that year.^[2] In September 2012, Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye announced that the airport would open in the first quarter of 2014.^[3] In January 2015, word spread that the airport would open in June 2015. On April 4, 2015 Reuters announced a new opening date for early 2016.

The expected building costs rose to 566 million euros,^[2] with over 400 million coming from the Saudi Binladin Group.^[4]

The airport finally opened for scheduled operations on December 7, 2017.^[5]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Dakar Blaise Diagne Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Air Algérie	Algiers
Air Burkina	Bamako, Ouagadougou
Air Côte d'Ivoire	Abidjan, Bissau[6]
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Senegal	Abidjan, Bamako, Banjul, Bissau, Cap Skirring, Casablanca, Conakry, Cotonou, Freetown, Niamey (resumes 27 May 2025),[7] Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Praia, Sal,[8] Ziguinchor Seasonal: Jeddah[9]
ASKY Airlines	Bissau, Lomé, Praia
Binter Canarias	Gran Canaria[10]
Brussels Airlines	Banjul, Brussels
Delta Air Lines	New York–JFK
Emirates	Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa, Bamako
Iberia	Madrid
ITA Airways	Rome–Fiumicino[11]
Kenya Airways	Abidjan, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta[12]
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg[13]
Mauritania Airlines	Abidjan, Bamako, Conakry, Freetown, Nouakchott
Neos	Bergamo, Milan–Malpensa,[14] Rome–Fiumicino Seasonal: Verona[citation needed]
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca[15]
Smartwings	Seasonal charter: Prague[16]
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon[17]
Transair	Banjul, Bissau, Cap Skirring, Conakry, Freetown, Kolda, Praia, Ziguinchor Charter: Kédougou,[citation needed] Tambacounda[citation needed]
Transavia	Marseille,[18] Nantes[19] Seasonal: Bordeaux,[18] Lille,[20] Lyon,[19] Nice,[20] Toulouse[18]
TUI Airways	Seasonal: London–Gatwick[citation needed]
TUI fly Belgium	Brussels
TUI fly Deutschland	Düsseldorf[21]
TUI fly Netherlands	Seasonal: Amsterdam[22]
Tunisair	Conakry, Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul
United Airlines	Washington–Dulles (begins 23 May 2025)[23]
Vueling	Barcelona[24]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Air France Cargo[25]	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
DHL Aviation[26]	Brussels, Casablanca
Magma Aviation[27]	Clermont–Ferrand

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at DKR DSS airports. See Wikidata query.

In 2022, the airport handled 2,629,348 passengers, a 5.53% increase compared to 2019.^{[citation needed]}

Ground transportation

The Train Express Regional Dakar-AIBD is a rail-link between the airport and Dakar. The first phase, linking downtown Dakar and Diamniadio, opened on 14 January 2019.^[28] As of January 2023, the rails and station that will serve the airport are under construction.

Accidents and incidents

• On May 9, 2024, a Boeing 737-300 aircraft (registered as 6V-AJE) operated by Transair (Senegal) on behalf of Air Sénégal partially caught fire and was damaged after overrunning the runway during a rejected takeoff for Bamako. Of the 85 people on board, 10 occupants were injured.^[29] The aircraft was also written off.^[30]