Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport

Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport (IATA: NKC, ICAO: GQNO) (Arabic: مطار نواكشوط الدولي - أم التونسي‎) is an international airport serving Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the city. The airport opened in June 2016 as the replacement for Nouakchott International Airport.

Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Mauritania
ServesNouakchott
Hub forMauritania Airlines
Elevation AMSL3 m / 9 ft
Coordinates18°18′36″N 015°58′11″W
Map
NKC
Location in Mauritania
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,400 7,874 Concrete
16/34 3,400 11,155 Concrete
Source: AIP from ASECNA[1]

History

The airport is designed by Omer Houessou,[2] it is the largest project in Mauritania since 1960.[3] The Government of Mauritania approved the plan on 13 October 2011,[4] and local company Najah for Major Works (NMW) started construction the following month.[2]

Oumtounsy Airport opened on 23 June 2016, in time for the 27th Arab League summit in late July.[2] It replaces Nouakchott International Airport, which is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south in the city centre. A Mauritania Airlines International flight from Zouérat arrived at 12:00, becoming the first to land at the airport.[5][6] President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz arrived in the afternoon to inaugurate the airport amid the landing of the first international flight, that of Turkish Airlines from Istanbul–Atatürk.[6]

Egis Group put in place the airport transfer program, which saw the simultaneous shut down of the previous airport and opening of the new airport to the public on the same day.

Infrastructure

The 30,000-square-metre (320,000 sq ft) passenger terminal has 6 jet bridges and can handle 2 million passengers per year.[2][7] There is also a dedicated terminal for air cargo and a VIP reception area.[7]

Runways

The airport has two runways:[1]

  • Runway 06/24: 2,400 by 45 metres (7,874 ft × 148 ft)
  • Runway 16/34: 3,400 by 60 metres (11,150 ft × 200 ft)

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Algérie Algiers, Dakar–Diass
Air France Conakry, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Senegal Dakar–Diass[8]
ASKY Airlines Conakry[9]
Binter Canarias Gran Canaria
Mauritania Airlines Abidjan, Bamako, Casablanca, Conakry, Dakar–Diass, Gran Canaria, Néma,[10] Nouadhibou, Zouérat
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
Tunisair Tunis
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[11]

Access

Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport is connected to the city of Nouakchott by Sheikh Zayed Road.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Local, Conventional Star, Approach Conventional, and RNAV/PBN Approach Charts of Nouakchott (GQNO)" (PDF). Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar. 28 April 2016. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. "Airport designed by The mauritanian architcte Omer Houessou" [Inauguration of new Nouakchott international airport]. Egis group (in French). 27 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  3. Akwei, Ismail (24 June 2016). "Mauritania opens new international airport ahead of Arab League Summit". Africanews. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  4. "Adoption de la société 'NMW SA' exécutrice du projet du nouvel aéroport international" [Adoption of the company 'NMW SA' executor of new international airport project] (Press release) (in French). Najah for Major Works. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  5. "Le nouvel aéroport International de Nouakchott reçoit son premier vol" [The new international airport of Nouakchott gets its first flight]. Alakhbar (in French). 23 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  6. "Abdel Aziz à l'aéroport Oumtounsi pour assister à l'arrivée du premier vol international" [Abdel Aziz at Oumtounsi Airport to witness the arrival of the first international flight]. Points Chauds Online (in French). 24 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  7. "Nouakchott, Mauritania's new airport opens to all traffic". ch-aviation. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  8. "Air Senegal continues Africa network expansion in W19". routesonline.com. 16 October 2019.
  9. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/281376/asky-airlines-files-guinea-network-from-december-2018/
  10. Liu, Jim. "Mauritania Airlines adds Nema service from Dec 2019". Routesonline. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  11. "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)".
  12. "Street in Mauritania named after Sheikh Zayed". The Gulf Today. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
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