Quatro de Fevereiro Airport

Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro, Swahili: Uwanja wa Ndege wa Kimataifa wa Quatro 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 4 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 2018, about 5.6 million passengers were handled.^[1]

Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro
IATA: LAD ICAO: FNLU
Summary
Airport type	Military / Public
Operator	ENANA EP
Location	Luanda, Angola
Hub for	Fly Angola TAAG Angola Airlines
Elevation AMSL	243 ft / 74 m
Coordinates	08°51′30″S 13°13′52″E
Website	www.aeroporto-luanda.com
Map
LAD Location of Airport in Angola Show map of Angola LAD LAD (Africa) Show map of Africa
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05/23 3,716 12,190 Asphalt 07/25 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers 5,600,000 Passenger change 18–19 9.4% Aircraft movements 65,843 Movements change 18–19 1.8%

Starting 2024,^[2] the airport will be replaced by the new Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport.^[3]

History

The construction of the airport began in 1951, in order to serve the capital of the former-Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola.^{[citation needed]} 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).^{[citation needed]}

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.^[4][5]

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.

Facilities

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).^[6]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Luanda Quatro de Fevereiro Airport:^[7]

Airlines	Destinations
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pointe-Noire
Airlink	Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo (ends 17 March 2025)[8]
ASKY Airlines	Lomé,[9] Pointe-Noire[10]
Brussels Airlines	Brussels, Kinshasa–N'djili (both end 25 March 2025)[11][12]
Emirates	Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
Fly Angola	Benguela, Catumbela,[13] Dundo, Saurimo, Windhoek–Hosea Kutako[14]
Kenya Airways	Brazzaville, Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Lufthansa	Frankfurt
Qatar Airways	Doha
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca
TAAG Angola Airlines[7]	Abidjan, Brazzaville, Cape Town, Catumbela, Harare, Huambo, Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Kinshasa–N'djili, Kuito, Lagos, Lisbon, Lubango, Lusaka, Maputo, Menongue, Moçâmedes, Ondjiva, Pointe-Noire,[15] Sal, São Paulo–Guarulhos, São Tomé, Uíge,[16] Windhoek–Hosea Kutako Seasonal: Havana[17]
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon, Porto[18]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul,[19] Libreville

Statistics

Traffic by calendar year. Official ACI Statistics

	Passengers	Change from previous year	Aircraft operations	Change from previous year	Cargo (metric tons)	Change from previous year
2005	882,749	18.15%	28,382	17.31%	19,975	23.35%
2006	1,128,442	27.83%	22,213	21.74%	33,876	69.59%
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	9.37%	65,843	3.17%	53,339	25.17%
Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Statistics (Years 2005-2009)

Accidents and incidents

• On 26 March 1979, a cargo-configured Interflug Ilyushin Il-18 DM-STL overshot the runway following an engine failure during the take-off run. The aircraft broke up and erupted into flames, killing the ten people on board.^[20][21]
• On 12 February 2000, a Transafrik International cargo Boeing 727 crashed upon landing on runway 23. Due to high winds gusting to between 50 and 80 knots, the aircraft had executed a missed approach, and upon the landing flare of the second attempt, witnesses saw the right wing touch the ground.^{[citation needed]}
• On 25 May 2003, a Boeing 727-223 with the registration number N844AA, which had been parked at the airport for over a year, was stolen in mysterious circumstances. As of January 2024, the aircraft has not been located.^[22]
• On 27 June 2009, a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER G-RAES was damaged, while it was parked, by a collision with a Hainan Airlines Airbus A340-600 B-6510.^[23][24]
• On 31 January 2010, Guicango Yakovlev Yak-40 D2-FES suffered the collapse of all landing gears on landing after a flight from Cabinda.^[25]

References

1. Macauhub: Over 2 million passengers processed at Luanda Airport Angola in first half of 2010 30 November 2009
2. (in Portuguese) Novo aeroporto de Luanda: Defende-se investigação para responsabilização, 06.03.2019
3. Angola: Luanda's costly new airport raises questions. theafricareport.com. 18 November 2014 (inglês)
4. "Flight from Angola". The Economist. 16 August 1975. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
5. "More Planes and Troops Sought for Angola Airlift". The New York Times. 10 September 1975. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
6. Airport information for FNLU^[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
7. "Angola: Authorities suspend international flights as of March 20 /update 3". GardaWorld. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
8. "Airlink 1Q25 Luanda Service Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
9. "Asky Airlines Plans Angola Launch in August 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
10. "Asky Airlines Resumes Pointe Noire Service From Oct 2024". AeroRoutes. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
11. "brussels airlines resumes Luanda / New York service in Feb 2021". Routesonline. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
12. "Brussels Airlines NS25 Central Africa Service Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
13. "Fly Angola Launches Catumbela – Windhoek Service in 1Q25". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
14. https://www.timesaerospace.aero/news/route-planning-and-tourism/fly-angola-to-commence-flights-to-namibia
15. "TAAG Angola Resumes Pointe Noire Service From mid-Dec 2022". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
16. "TAAG Angola Adds Uige Service in NS22". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
17. "TAAG Angola Resumes Cuba Service from Nov 2022".
18. "TAP AIR PORTUGAL ADDS PORTO – LUANDA SERVICE FROM LATE-MAY 2023".
19. "THY'den yeni hat duyurusu". 25 August 2021.
20. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 18D DM-STL Luanda-4 de Fevereiro Airport (LAD)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
21. "Accident description of the 1979 Interflug crash". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
22. "History of flight: The 727 that vanished". Airspacemag.com. September 2010.
23. "Parked BA 777 damaged in ground collision at Luanda". FlightGlobal.com. 29 June 2009.
24. "Accident: British Airways B772 and Hainan A346 at Luanda on Jun 27th 2009, wings collided". avherald.com. 29 June 2009.
25. Hradecky, Simon. "Accident: Guicango YK40 at Luanda on Jan 31st 2010, gear collapse on landing". Aviation Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2010.

External links

Media related to Quatro de Fevereiro Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Current weather for FNLU at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LAD at Aviation Safety Network
• Luanda Airport website by the operator ENANA EP