TAAG Angola Airlines will begin transitioning commercial flights to a new $3.8 billion airport in Angola’s capital Luanda from November as part of efforts to position the southern African nation as a regional aviation hub.
The first route to switch from the existing Quatro de Fevereiro Luanda International Airport (LAD) to the New Luanda International Airport (NBJ), also known as Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport, will take place on Nov. 10. It will connect the new airport with Cabinda, a city and a municipality located in the Cabinda Province, an exclave of Angola.
Cabinda was selected as the initial route to move operations due to its high traffic volume and frequency, which will test the airport’s operational readiness across all hours of the day. TAAG will operate four flights per day to Cabinda using De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 aircraft with 74 seats.
TAAG’s gradual relocation process will add domestic destinations, including Dundo, Saurimo, Luena and Soyo, by December 2024, with plans to transition all remaining routes, including international flights, by early 2025.
NBJ, located about 26 mi. from the center of Luanda, will include a terminal building capable of handling 15 million passengers per year, a 13,780-ft. northern runway and 12,467-ft. southern runway, a hotel, shops and restaurants. The first phase will also be able to handle 130,000 tons of cargo annually.
Built on a 43-hectare site by AVIC, plans for the state-owned new airport have been in the works for more than a decade but have been delayed several times. Once fully operational, however, NBJ will replace the existing LAD airport as Angola’s main international gateway.
TAAG launched cargo operations from NBJ in January 2024 and began conducting test flights for passenger services in August.
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