Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport

Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport is the principal international airport of Angola and one of the largest airports in sub-Saharan Africa by runway capacity, though the construction of the new Agostinho Neto International Airport (NBJ) at Icolo e Bengo is scheduled to supersede LAD's international role once fully commissioned. Named for the 4 February 1961 uprising that marked the beginning of the Angolan War of Independence, LAD handles 33 scheduled routes to 27 nonstop destinations operated by 15 airlines. The airport operates two asphalt runways: the primary 12,190 ft (3,715 m) lighted 05/23 and the secondary 8,530 ft (2,600 m) lighted 07/25. The 3,715 m primary runway is among the longest in Africa and supports full widebody operations. LAD is the home base of TAAG Angola Airlines, the national flag carrier, which operates a mixed Boeing 737NG, 737 MAX, 777-200/300ER, and Dash 8 fleet. Long-haul destinations include Lisbon, São Paulo, Houston (via Houston Intercontinental cargo operations), Brussels, and Dubai, with heavy intra-African connectivity to Luanda–Johannesburg, Lagos, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, and Windhoek. Internationally significant for its role in the pre-2027 Angolan aviation transition: the new Agostinho Neto Airport, 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Luanda and built with Chinese financing, is positioned to become Angola's primary international airport, with LAD retained for domestic and military operations. Until that transition, Quatro de Fevereiro remains the oil-industry logistics gateway for Angola, the second-largest oil producer in Africa, with specialized charter flights servicing offshore platforms in the Lower Congo, Kwanza, and Namibe basins. The airport sits 4 km (2.5 mi) south of central Luanda at 243 ft (74 m) elevation.