Turkish Airlines has permanently discontinued its service to Luanda, Angola, joining several other international carriers that have reduced or eliminated their routes since the city's new airport opened in 2023. Despite a designed capacity for 15 million annual passengers, the airport handled only about 760,000 passengers in 2025, leading to significant operational challenges and low passenger numbers.
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Turkish Airlines has permanently discontinued its flight to Luanda, Angola, joining other international airlines that have pulled out since the city’s new airport opened in 2023. The Istanbul-based carrier had initially suspended services through October 24, 2023, citing high fuel costs but later removed Luanda from its permanent schedule along with routes to Juba, Kinshasa, Libreville, and Lusaka. Turkish Airlines' triangular service via Kinshasa provided passengers in Luanda onward connections to Europe, Asia, and beyond through Istanbul. The new airport was designed for 15 million annual passengers but handled fewer than 800,000 in 2025. Other airlines that have ceased operations include Brussels Airlines, which ended its service on March 25, 2025, redirecting passengers to Lufthansa's direct Frankfurt–Luanda flights. TAAG Angola Airlines suspended its Madrid route in January 2024 and never reinstated it. Iberia has also maintained a suspension of flights to Luanda since 2016, preferring to codeshare with TAAG instead.
Written for “Angola Airport Issues” on 2026-09-14,
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The Istanbul carrier permanently axed Luanda, along with four other African routes, becoming the latest international airline to exit the Angolan capital since its new airport opened in 2023.
asserted
airport → ax → 2023
The facility was built for 15 million annual passengers but handled fewer than 800,000 in 2025.
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facility → build → 2025
Turkish Airlines has permanently axed its Luanda route, the latest in a series of international carriers to drop the Angolan capital since Angola inaugurated its new airport in 2023.
asserted
Angola → ax → 2023
The Istanbul-based carrier removed Luanda from its future schedule earlier this month, along with Juba, Kinshasa, Libreville and Lusaka, after those services had been suspended through 24 October.
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services → base → October
Turkish Airlines initially described the suspension as temporary when it announced the move in April, citing fuel costs.
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it → describe → costs
It had operated a triangular service through Kinshasa rather than a direct connection, but the route gave Luanda passengers onward access to destinations across Europe, Asia and beyond via Istanbul.
Brussels Airlines ended its Luanda service on 25 March 2025 as part of a restructuring within the Lufthansa Group, redirecting passengers onto Lufthansa's direct Frankfurt–Luanda flights.
TAAG Angola Airlines suspended its Madrid route — codeshared with Iberia — in January 2024 and later removed a planned return from its schedule.
Iberia never reversed its decision to suspend flights to Luanda, in place since 2016, opting instead to codeshare with TAAG since 2022.
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Iberia → operate → 2022
That link is now gone as well.
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link → go → ?
South African Airways (SAA) also only places its code on TAAG-operated flights.
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Airways → place → flights
Low passenger numbers plague new airport
The departures come as Angola's Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport, about 45km from central Luanda, struggles to establish itself as the regional hub the government promised when it inaugurated the facility in November 2023.
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it → plague → November
Built by Chinese state-owned company AVIC and designed for a maximum annual capacity of 15 million passengers, the airport handled 756,028 passengers in all of 2025, according to figures from the airport's temporary operator ATO.
uncertain
airport → build → operator
By 24 February of this year, total passenger numbers since the first domestic flight in November 2024 stood at 1,090,861, including 444,212 international passengers.
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numbers → stand → passengers
The full transfer of services from the old Quatro de Fevereiro airport was completed on 1 March — more than two years after the inauguration — when South African carrier Airlink moved its Johannesburg flights to the new facility.
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Airlink → complete → facility
In December 2025, ATO's Director of Planning and Quality Vissolela Chivunda said the airport expected around 4 million passengers in 2026.
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airport → say → 2026
Luanda remains served by TAP Air Portugal, Air France, Lufthansa, Royal Air Maroc, Ethiopian Airlines, Qatar Airways, Airlink and TAAG, alongside Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation, which began two weekly flights from Kinshasa on 21 August.
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which → serve → August
