Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Lungi International Airport, officially named Freetown International Airport, is the sole international gateway to Sierra Leone, standing on the coastal town of Lungi across the Sierra Leone River estuary from the capital, Freetown. For a visiting pilot it offers a single long asphalt runway equipped with ILS, full ATC services and a modern terminal that reopened in 2023 after a major redevelopment.
Lungi International Airport serves as the principal air gateway for Freetown and the whole of Sierra Leone, handling the country's international and regional airline traffic. It sits on the northern side of the Sierra Leone River estuary, separated from the capital by water, which historically has made ferries and water taxis the main onward connection for arriving passengers. For a simulator pilot it is a straightforward single-runway international field with full instrument approach capability, offering a realistic West African airline and cargo operating environment.
The airport lies at Lungi in Port Loko District, Northern Province, on the coast facing the Sierra Leone River estuary, with Freetown itself on the opposite southern shore. As Sierra Leone's only international airport it sits within controlled airspace served by an approach and tower service, reflecting its role as the country's principal aerial port of entry.
The airfield has one physical runway, 12/30, orientated northwest-southeast. The 12 threshold offers 10,887 feet of hard-surfaced, lit runway, while the reciprocal 30 threshold offers 10,496 feet, also hard-surfaced and lit, and served by an ILS. Field elevation is 85 feet above mean sea level.
Air-to-ground communication is available on 667.3 MHz. Approach control (RDO APP) operates on 119.1 MHz, ground movements are handled on 121.9 MHz, and the tower frequency is 118.1 MHz. An ILS is provided for runway 30, supporting instrument approaches into the field.
Lungi began as a Royal Air Force base and became Freetown's airport in 1949 after the previous airstrip at Waterloo was abandoned owing to runway subsidence and the proximity of hills; Waterloo airfield closed in June 1949. A control tower was built in 1952, and a new terminal building, designed following a draft plan by Public Works Department architect Robin Halliday Macartney and developed by airport engineer A. E. Pugh, opened in 1955. As traffic grew, the decision was taken in 1960 to develop Lungi into a modern international airport, and a new terminal designed by Nickson & Borys opened officially on 25 June 1964, later expanded for the 1980 Organisation of African Unity summit. The airport was long operated by the Sierra Leone Airports Authority, with management contracted to Westminster Aviation Security Services Ltd from 2012. From September 2014 most regional and intercontinental services were suspended because of the West Africa Ebola outbreak, during which Brussels Airlines was the only carrier to maintain regular flights; Air Cote d'Ivoire was the first to resume commercial services, in October 2014. A plan to replace Lungi with a new airport at Mamamah was cancelled in October 2018, after which the government opted to refurbish Lungi and pursue a bridge link to Freetown, a project announced by President Julius Maada Bio in 2019.
Following parliamentary approval in December 2020, a $270 million expansion project delivered a new passenger terminal, VIP terminal, taxiways and a widened runway, with the new terminal built on the northern side of the runway towards its eastern end; it officially opened on 4 March 2023 under a management agreement with Summa Airport (SL) Ltd. The airport today handles a range of international and regional carriers, including Air Peace, Air Senegal, Air Sierra Leone, ASKY Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and Royal Air Maroc, making it a busy but manageable West African international airport for simulator operations.
