Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport Guide

Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport served Luanda, Angola's capital, for over 70 years before closing to commercial flights on 1 March 2026. Its name commemorates February 4, 1961, the date armed resistance against Portuguese colonial rule began. Construction started in 1951, and the facility opened in 1954 under the name Aeroporto Presidente Craveiro Lopes. It was renamed after Angola gained independence in November 1975.

The airport sat within the city boundary, roughly 4 to 5 kilometres south of central Luanda, making it unusually close to downtown for a major African hub. This proximity caused persistent operational constraints: limited space for apron expansion, restricted runway lengths, and heavy traffic congestion on approach roads. At its peak in 2018, the airport handled approximately 5.6 million passengers and 65,843 aircraft movements. Capacity consistently fell short of demand as Luanda grew into one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest cities.

TAAG Angola Airlines used the airport as its main hub, operating flights to Europe, Africa, and the Americas. International carriers including Ethiopian Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc also operated scheduled services. The airport's single passenger terminal handled both domestic and international traffic, with limited gate capacity requiring many aircraft to use remote stands. Operations transferred progressively to the new Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport, located 40 kilometres south, with domestic services ending in January 2025 and the final international flights departing in October 2025.