Roberts International Airport

Roberts International Airport is the principal international airport of Liberia, serving the capital Monrovia and named after Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the republic's first president and a central figure in the 1847 Liberian declaration of independence. The airport is located at Harbel, near the Robertsfield plantation complex of the Firestone Natural Rubber Company, 35 mi (56 km) southeast of central Monrovia at just 31 ft (9 m) elevation on the Atlantic coastal plain. Originally built by the United States during World War II as a ferry stop on the South Atlantic air bridge between Brazil and North Africa, ROB remains Liberia's sole gateway for international scheduled service and carries substantial symbolic weight as the aviation link reconnecting the country to global networks following two civil wars (1989 to 1997 and 1999 to 2003) and the 2014 to 2016 Ebola epidemic that devastated Liberian aviation demand. The airport handles 14 routes across 7 destinations through 7 airlines. No carrier operates a hub here. Brussels Airlines provides the flagship European long-haul link to Brussels (often operated via Freetown or Abidjan), ASKY Airlines connects to its Lomé hub for regional West African coverage, Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca, Air Côte d'Ivoire to Abidjan, Kenya Airways to Nairobi, and Ethiopian Airlines via Accra and Addis Ababa. The route network concentrates on the Brussels and Casablanca long-haul feeds that link Liberia to the European and North American diaspora, and the regional ECOWAS capital network. The single asphalt runway 04/22 measures 11,000 ft (3,353 m), a legacy of the airport's WWII military origins that allows widebody operations well beyond current traffic levels. The terminal has undergone phased reconstruction following civil-war-era damage, including a Chinese-financed new passenger building. ROB is operated by the Liberia Airport Authority. Spriggs Payne Airport (MLW) in downtown Monrovia handles general aviation and short-range regional flights.