Nelson Mandela International Airport

Nelson Mandela International, formerly Praia International and renamed in 2013 on the occasion of Cape Verde's commemoration of the South African statesman, serves the archipelagic country's capital on Santiago Island. It is one of four international airports in Cape Verde and the political and administrative primary, though the larger Amílcar Cabral International (SID) on Sal handles more tourist traffic. RAI's 2,100 m (6,890 ft) asphalt runway accommodates narrowbody international operations, and the airport's role as national-capital gateway and seat of Cape Verdean civil aviation places it inside the world's 534 largest. About 12 airlines operate 22 routes to 15 destinations (2026). TACV/Cabo Verde Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, and Binter Canarias dominate the European schedule with regular service to Lisbon, Las Palmas, Tenerife, and Madeira; Royal Air Maroc provides the Casablanca link; and domestic service to Sal, São Vicente, Boa Vista, Fogo, and Maio makes RAI the hub of the country's inter-island network. Passenger throughput of roughly 700,000 annually leans heavily on diaspora traffic — Cape Verde's emigrant population exceeds its domestic population, making Lisbon the dominant single route. Vinci Airports took over a seven-airport Cape Verdean concession in 2023, with RAI as its flagship, and is pursuing terminal expansion and apron upgrades. The airport also serves as a mid-Atlantic technical stop for long-range general-aviation and ferry flights between Europe and South America, a role inherited from the archipelago's long-standing strategic position on transatlantic air routes since the 1940s.