Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport

Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International, opened in June 2016 to replace the cramped in-city predecessor airport 25 km to the south, is Mauritania's principal gateway and one of the newest internationally-built airports in West Africa. The twin-runway configuration — a primary 3,400 m (11,155 ft) concrete strip plus a 2,400 m (7,875 ft) secondary — is unusually ample for a country of roughly 4.8 million residents and reflects the airport's design brief as a regional alternate and freight hub. Widebody capacity plus sole-international-gateway status for Mauritania are what qualify NKC for the 534 largest. About 11 airlines operate 20 routes to 13 destinations (2026). Mauritania Airlines (the flag carrier, based at NKC), Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Tunisair, Air Sénégal, Turkish Airlines, and Ethiopian anchor the international schedule to Paris, Casablanca, Tunis, Dakar, Istanbul, Addis Ababa, and Jeddah. Annual throughput of roughly 500,000 passengers is split between outbound Mauritanian labour migration, inbound business travel tied to the country's iron-ore and hydrocarbon sectors, and steady traffic to Jeddah tied to Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage demand. The terminal was financed and built by the Saudi Binladin Group under a 2011 agreement, with Najah Aviation Services as local operator, and carries a nameplate capacity of roughly 2M passengers. NKC is also the operational base for the Mauritanian Air Force's principal VIP squadron and serves as the designated widebody alternate for much of the Sahelo-Saharan air corridor. Its coastal site — just 9 m (30 ft) above sea level — makes it particularly important for long-range routing between Europe, West Africa, and the South Atlantic.