Luanda - The provisional certification of Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport, which is under construction in Luanda, is scheduled to happen in August this year, before the date of entry into operation of this new airport infrastructure, foreseen for November 2023.
According to the new airport operations coordinator, José Nóbrega, after the certification, which will be done by the National Civil Aviation Authority, the Angolan officials should publish the essential information to the international air navigation on September 7, which is the deadline for the publication of the aeronautical data.
Speaking during the 8th edition of the CaféCIPRA biweekly rounds of discussions, held Tuesday in Luanda, the official noted that the certification process of this infrastructure aims fundamentally to inform the world the characteristics and the way to fly in Angola.
On the occasion, the minister of Transportation, Ricardo D´Abreu, assured that the certification process of this airport is being duly taken care of, with the creation of all the conditions required internationally for this purpose.
He said that this process takes place simultaneously with other activities underway on that project, with a view to making the airport fully operational.
The new airport, named after the first president of Angola, Dr. António Agostinho Neto, is a infrastructure located in the area of Bom Jesus, Municipality of Icolo and Bengo, in Luanda. It covers an area of 1,324 hectares and will have a capacity for 15 million passengers and a volume of goods of fifty thousand tons per year.
4 de Fevereiro Airport will remain operational
As for the future of the current 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, in Luanda City, the minister of Transport, Ricardo D'Abreu, assured that this infrastructure will remain operational, serving another type of activities, such as aircraft maintenance, training of professionals or human resources training.
"We have no plans to close or deactivate the 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, taking into account the size of the city of Luanda. Therefore, the facilities of this airport will remain in operation, with its proper certification and adequate operational and security conditions”, he added.
He also noted that the current airport will also serve to accommodate charter flights (a model of non-regular operation, without following predetermined schedules).
