Nelson Mandela International Airport

Praia International Airport
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Aeroportos Segurança Aérea (ASA)
Location Praia, Cape Verde
Focus city for Cabo Verde Airlines[1]
Elevation AMSL 70 m / 230 ft
Coordinates 14°55′27.12″N 23°29′38.04″W / 14.9242000°N 23.4939000°W / 14.9242000; -23.4939000Coordinates: 14°55′27.12″N 23°29′38.04″W / 14.9242000°N 23.4939000°W / 14.9242000; -23.4939000
Website RAI Website
Map
RAI
Location in Cape Verde
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
3/21 2,100 6,890 asphalt
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 662,356[2]
Operations 11,236[2]
Metric tonnes of cargo 959[2]

Nelson Mandela International Airport (IATA: RAI, ICAO: GVNP), also known as Praia International Airport, is the airport of Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in October 2005,[3] replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3 km northeast of the city centre of Praia in the southeastern part of the island of Santiago.

History

The first flight to the new airport was on 6 October 2005 with a flight from Sal.[3] Even though the airport serves the capital and largest city, Praia as well as the island of Santiago, Cape Verde's busiest international airport is Amílcar Cabral International Airport located on the smaller island of Sal.[2]

In January 2012 a Cape Verde government statement noted that Praia International Airport was renamed after South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela, an icon for freedom in Africa, not without controversy.[4] Modernization works, including a new departures hall, were scheduled for completion in July 2018.[5]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Air Senegal Dakar–Diass (begins 1 October 2018)[6]
Azores Airlines Ponta Delgada
Seasonal: Boston
Binter CV Boa Vista, Maio, Sal, São Filipe,[7] São Nicolau, São Vicente
Cabo Verde AirlinesBoston,[8] Lisbon
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon
TUI fly Netherlands Amsterdam

Statistics

YearPassengersOperationsCargo (t)
2012[9]497,049
2013[9]505,4978,9781,418
2016[2]522,5848,6411,109
2017[2]662,35611,236959

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airlines/tacv-vr
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Boletim Estatístico de Tráfego – Ano 2017" (PDF) (in Portuguese). ASA. January 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Novo Aeroporto: Primeiro voo intercontinental chega hoje à Praia" [New Airport: First Intercontinental Flight Arrives in Praia]. A Semana (in Portuguese). 23 October 2005. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017.
  4. ↑ "Cape Verde Names Airport After Nelson Mandela". All Africa.com. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Obras de expansão e modernização do Aeroporto da Praia consomem mais 35 por cento dos 29 milhões de euros previstos" (in Portuguese). Inforpress. 18 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Air Senegal outlines proposed regional network from late-Sep 2018". routesonline.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  7. ↑ 2017, UBM (UK) Ltd. "Binter Cabo Verde adds Sao Filipe service from April 2017". Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  8. ↑ http://www.heraldnews.com/news/20180104/new-option-for-brockton-expats-cabo-verde-airlines-brings-back-weekly-route-to-logan
  9. 1 2 "Statistics in Airports" (PDF) (in Portuguese). ASA. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2014.

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