Luanda, July 11, 2025 (Lusa) - The director-general of the Temporary Operator of Luanda's new António Agostinho Neto International Airport said on Friday that talks are at an advanced stage with international airlines operating in Angola, including TAP, to start operating at the new infrastructure.
António Pombal, who was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 2nd Transport and Logistics Forum, organised by Jornal Expansão, on the theme ‘The New Airport as a Hub of Economic Development for the Country’, said that recently they have been gathering expressions of interest from international companies to transfer to the new António Agostinho Neto International Airport (AIAAN).
"We are working with all of them on a fortnightly basis to assess all the necessary technical, material and operational conditions, and they will soon be able to announce their transfer date to the new airport," he said.
According to António Pombal, "practically all" airlines operating in Angola have been in "constant contact".
"Yesterday [Thursday] we spoke with TAP and Air France, this coming week we will speak with Emirates, with Qatar it is practically resolved, from a technological and operational point of view, all that remains is for them to say that on the arranged day we will depart," he stressed.
According to António Pombal, the new airport already has two regional destinations in operation, Brazzaville and Kinshasa, the capitals of the neighbouring Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Angola's flag carrier TAAG - Linhas Aéreas Angolanas is scheduled to start operations at the new airport in September, said António Pombal, stressing that the timetable is well structured and "all the conditions are in place".
He stressed that the same should be done by other international airlines, according to "a schedule that is being developed" based on an executive decree, which stipulates that by "30 September all airlines must announce the date on which they will transfer" to the new airport.
"Security is excellent, we have security in every sense at the airport, our system is fully digitised, perimeter protection is guaranteed, we are even introducing an intrusion detection system, so there is no doubt about security," he assured.
The ‘slight delay’ that had occurred, António Pombal admitted, was related to ground assistance, but there are already two operators licensed to carry out this operation.
The new infrastructure, inaugurated in 2023, is already having a social impact, according to the official, with the creation of around 400 new jobs, a figure that is expected to rise to around 600 workers by September this year.
"We expect, if our operation allows it, to reach up to 2,200 workers, and then there are the indirect impacts that may arise, because we have restaurants, kiosks, other stakeholders, a universe for the airport that is extremely large," he said.
Cargo transport operations began in December 2023 and have been ‘constantly evolving,’ reaching around 6,100 tonnes to date, in pure cargo alone, "because the bulk of the cargo comes on passenger flights."
The new airport, located in the province of Icolo e Bengo, began construction in 2013, but in 2017 the project was re-evaluated and the infrastructure, which is located more than 40 kilometres north of Luanda, was inaugurated in 2023, costing the state coffers around €2.5 billion.
NME/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
