Luanda has a brand-new front door. About 40 km southeast of the city center in Bom Jesus, Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport (IATA: NBJ, ICAO: FNBJ) is the long-planned replacement for Quatro de Fevereiro—built to turn Angola’s capital into a true regional hub. Officially inaugurated in November 2023, it began with cargo operations and has been phasing in passenger flights since late 2024. Wikipedia Xinhua English
Why it matters
This is one of Africa’s most ambitious airport projects, featuring two parallel runways (4,000 m and 3,800 m) sized for widebodies up to the A380, and a vast passenger terminal designed for up to 15 million passengers per year (10 million international + 5 million domestic in phase one). It is also cited as the largest airport ever built by a Chinese enterprise outside China. Flight Globalobraspublicasinvestimentosangola.orgSimple Flying
Current operations (2025 snapshot)
Passenger services are ramping up in stages. TAAG launched the first passenger route from NBJ (to Cabinda) in November 2024 and has been progressively adding domestic services through 2025. Plans indicate a full transfer of international TAAG flights to NBJ in September 2025, with wider migration continuing thereafter. As of mid-2025, scheduled flights from NBJ are primarily operated by TAAG to domestic points, with growing frequencies. atta.traveltimesaerospace.aeroFlightsFromFlightConnections
Getting there
A dedicated rail link between central Luanda (Bungo station) and the airport launched in November 2024. The trip is timetabled around 60 minutes with an express service aligned to flight waves; buses, shuttles and taxis provide additional last-mile options. The airport also connects to expanded highway corridors for road access. verangola.netmedafricatimes.comatta.travel
Facilities at a glance
- Runways: 06L/24R (3,800 m) and 06R/24L (4,000 m), both asphalt. Flight Global
- Passenger terminal: ~160,000 m² with contact gates and modern processing systems. timesaerospace.aero
- Capacity: 15 million pax/year; cargo initially ~130,000 tons/year, with scope to scale. Simple Flying
- Codes: IATA NBJ / ICAO FNBJ. Navigraph
Traveler tips
- Check your ticket carefully. Luanda currently has two active airports (LAD and NBJ) during the transition—verify the airport code to avoid a long cross-town trek. Simple Flying
- Build in time for the rail/bus transfer. Trains run early to late, but service patterns can vary as flight banks evolve—plan a cushion. medafricatimes.com
- Spotters: Landside vantage points are limited; NBJ’s parallel runway layout means great movement potential once traffic scales up, with heavy-jet ops possible on both runways. Flight Global
The bigger picture
NBJ is designed to anchor TAAG’s hub strategy and reclaim Luanda’s role on pan-African and intercontinental networks. With capacity sized well beyond historic demand, expect a gradual build-out: more domestic connectivity first, then international consolidation as airlines (and infrastructure links) settle in. If you’re flying to or from Angola in 2025, NBJ is the one to watch.
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