November 10 marked a historic day for Angola and the national carrier TAAG Angola Airlines as the carrier operated its first commercial passenger flight from Luanda’s new $3 billion international airport. It has been an eventful last seven days for TAAG as it also started operations with its new Airbus A220-300.
Passenger flights from the new airport
Angola officially inaugurated the new Luanda Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport (NBJ) on November 10, 2023. Built by a Chinese company and funded by the Angolan government, it is estimated to have cost about $3.8 billion, including the supporting infrastructure.
It is set to become TAAG’s new hub and the country’s main gateway. Last month, TAAG announced that it would begin the gradual transfer of its passenger commercial flights from its current hub at Luanda 4 de Fevereiro International Airport (LAD) to the new airport. While cargo operations started in February, the first passenger flight took off on November 10.
The first route connects the new facility to Cabinda, a city in North-Western Angola. Flightradar24 shows that the earliest flight (DT120) departed Luanda (NBJ) at 08:34 and landed in Cabinda at 09:26. It was operated by TAAG’s Boeing 737-700. The route saw up to eight flights on its first day of operations.
This domestic route has the highest volume of passenger traffic and cargo flights throughout the day, making it possible to permanently enable and activate the multiple teams and operational systems from Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport.
More destinations to come
Since the first passenger flight, TAAG has operated a few more flights between Luanda and Cabinda, but with the DHC-8-Q400. The airline will offer four daily frequencies with its 74-seat Q400s with departures and arrivals exclusively at Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport.
In December, the airline will add more domestic connections to Dundo, Saurimo, Luena, and Soyo. It plans to complete the transfer of the remaining connections, both domestic and international, to the new airport in the first quarter of 2025. Eventually, all airlines serving Angola will move to the new hub.
The new airport has the capacity to handle 15 million passengers annually – 10 million international and 5 million domestic. It can also process up to 287 million pounds (130,000 tonnes) of cargo annually in the first phase, with an expansion capacity of up to 970 million pounds (444,000 tonnes).
Flying the new Airbus A220
On November 8, 2024, TAAG performed the first commercial flight with its new Airbus A220. The single-aisle jet flew to São Tomé, a Lusophony island in Central Africa. The inaugural flight (DT510) departed Luanda (LAD) at 11:42 and landed at 12:22. The aircraft has since operated seven more passenger flights.
TAAG received the new aircraft in September 2024 from Mirabel, Canada. It features the airline’s new livery, becoming the first aircraft to incorporate the company’s new brand. D2-TAA is on lease from Air Lease Corporation and is one of six A220s ordered at the 2022 Farnborough Air Show. The airline ordered an additional nine aircraft at the 2023 Paris Airshow.
The A220-300 has 137 seats, including 12 in business and 125 in economy class. It will be deployed on domestic and regional routes. TAAG also has four Boeing 787s on order, which it plans to use to expand its intercontinental operations.
Source: https://simpleflying.com/taag-angola-airlines-launches-service-new-chinese-built-airport/
