Amílcar Cabral International Airport Guide

Amílcar Cabral International Airport sits 2 km southwest of Espargos on Sal Island, Cape Verde. Originally built in 1939 by Italy as a refueling stop on routes between Europe and South America, it became one of the earliest transatlantic aviation waypoints. After World War II, Portugal acquired and expanded the facility, which reopened for full commercial operations in 1949. The airport once served as an alternate recovery site for NASA Space Shuttle missions.

Sal Island is Cape Verde's primary gateway for international tourism, and the airport handles the majority of the country's total air passenger traffic. Cabo Verde Airlines and its regional subsidiary Cabo Verde Express are based here. European carriers including easyJet, TAP Air Portugal, TUI Airways, Transavia, and Binter Canarias operate regular and seasonal services, mainly from the UK, Portugal, France, and Spain.

The airport has a single passenger terminal in a two-story building with check-in, arrivals, duty-free retail, a restaurant, and banking facilities. The main runway is the longest in Cape Verde at 3,000 m. VINCI Airports holds a 70% stake in the operating concession, in partnership with ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, with the contract running to 2063.