Ndjili International Airport

N'djili International Airport is the primary international gateway to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the second-largest country in Africa by area and home to nearly 100 million people. Serving Kinshasa, a metropolitan area of approximately 17 million that ranks among the three largest francophone cities in the world, FIH handles 38 scheduled routes to 28 nonstop destinations operated by 18 airlines — route breadth that reflects Kinshasa's size but that is heavily weighted toward regional African connectivity. The airport operates a single 13,123 ft (4,000 m) concrete runway 06/24 at 1,027 ft (313 m) elevation — one of the longest runways in sub-Saharan Africa and originally paved to this length to support Boeing 747 wet-lease operations and high-MTOW long-haul departures in the humid, elevated equatorial conditions. FIH is the home base of Congo Airways and hosts regular long-haul service from Air France (Paris-CDG), Brussels Airlines (BRU), Ethiopian (ADD), Kenya Airways (NBO), Turkish Airlines (IST), and South African (JNB). Internationally significant as the aviation gateway to the Congo Basin and one of only two major cities in Africa (along with Brazzaville, its cross-river twin) where two national capitals face each other across a single watercourse — the Congo River — separated by a short ferry route rather than a commercial overland connection. The airport is a frequent transit point for UN MONUSCO peacekeeping mission logistics, World Health Organization response flights, and ICRC humanitarian operations, given DRC's protracted instability in the eastern provinces. A new 'Terminal Modulaire' was inaugurated in 2022 to augment the aging original 1958-era terminal, and further expansion is planned under the national airport authority RVA.