| Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport | |
| Iata: | LAD |
| Icao: | FNLU |
| Pushpin Map: | Angola#Africa |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 200 |
| Pushpin Mark: | Airplane_silhouette.svg |
| Pushpin Label: | LAD |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Airport in Angola |
| Type: | Military / Public |
| Operator: | ENANA EP |
| Location: | Luanda, Angola |
| Hub: | |
| Elevation-F: | 243 |
| Elevation-M: | 74 |
| Coordinates: | -8.8583°N 13.2311°W |
| Metric-Rwy: | y |
| R1-Number: | 05/23 |
| R1-Length-M: | 3,716 |
| R1-Length-F: | 12,190 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 07/25 |
| R2-Length-M: | 2,600 |
| R2-Length-F: | 8,530 |
| R2-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 5,600,000 |
| Stat2-Header: | Passenger change 18–19 |
| Stat2-Data: | 9.4% |
| Stat3-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat3-Data: | 65,843 |
| Stat4-Header: | Movements change 18–19 |
| Stat4-Data: | 1.8% |
Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional 4 de Fevereiro, Swahili: Uwanja wa Ndege wa Kimataifa wa Quatro de Fevereiro), 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]
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 243feet above mean sea level. It has two asphalt paved runways: 05/23 is 3716mx45mm (12,192feetx148feetm) and 07/25 is 2600mx60mm (8,500feetx200feetm).[4] Starting no earlier than 2024,[5] the airport will be replaced by the new Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto 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]
| 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) |