Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Nelson Mandela International Airport is the gateway to Santiago Island in Cape Verde, situated a short distance northeast of the capital, Praia. Opened in 2005 as a replacement for the old Francisco Mendes International Airport and renamed in 2012 in honour of Nelson Mandela, it is a single-runway international field offering radar and tower services to visiting pilots.
Nelson Mandela International Airport serves Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on the island of Santiago. It replaced the older Francisco Mendes International Airport when it opened in October 2005 and is operated today under a long-term concession by Vinci Airports together with its subsidiary ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal. For a simulator pilot it offers a single long hard-surfaced runway, terminal radar and tower coverage, and the character of a mid-sized international field serving an island capital rather than a major hub - Cape Verde's busiest airport remains Amílcar Cabral International on the island of Sal.
The airport lies on Santiago Island, about 3 km northeast of the centre of Praia, Cape Verde's capital and largest city. It is served by an approach and tower unit under the callsign Praia, indicating that the field sits within controlled airspace appropriate to an international airport handling scheduled and charter traffic.
The airport has a single physical runway aligned 03/21, surfaced in asphalt and lit for night operations. Runway 03 has a landing distance of 6224 ft, while runway 21 offers 6888 ft. The field elevation is 315 ft. There is no ILS approach available.
Both approach and tower services operate on the same frequency of 118.2 MHz, with the callsigns Praia Approach and Praia Tower respectively. No ILS or other instrument approach aid is listed for the airport.
The airport opened on 6 October 2005, with the first flight arriving from Sal, Cape Verde, replacing the older Francisco Mendes International Airport as Praia's main air link. In January 2012 the Cape Verdean government renamed the airport after Nelson Mandela, the first president of South Africa. In July 2023 Vinci Airports concluded a financial arrangement to take over operation of seven Cape Verde airports, including this one, under a 40-year concession agreement with the national government, working alongside its subsidiary ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal, which holds a 30 percent stake in the concession company Cabo Verde Airports.
The airport is operated under the Vinci Airports concession and continues to handle scheduled international and regional services to and from Santiago Island, though it remains secondary in traffic volume to Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal. Modernisation works, including a new departures hall, were undertaken with completion targeted for 2018. No prior permission requirement, fuel details or simulator scenery availability are noted.
