Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport

Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport (IATA: ABJ, ICAO: DIAP), also known as Port Bouët Airport, is located 16 km (9 nmi; 10 mi) south east of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.[1] It is the largest airport in the country for air traffic. The airport is the main hub of the national airline Air Côte d'Ivoire. Named after the first president of Ivory Coast, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, this international airport is directly connected currently to airports in Europe and to many destinations within the rest of Africa and the Middle East. The airport is served by 17 airlines, covering more than 30 destinations.

Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport
Summary
Airport typeMilitary / Public
ServesAbidjan
LocationPort-Bouët, Ivory Coast
Hub forAir Côte d'Ivoire
Elevation AMSL29 m / 95 ft
Coordinates5°15′41.1″N 003°55′32.8″W
Websiteaeria-ci.com
Map
ABJ is located in Africa
ABJ
ABJ
ABJ is located in Ivory Coast
ABJ
ABJ
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 3,000 9,842 Macadam
Statistics (2017)
Passengers2,070,000
Passenger change 16–17Increase +13.2%
Source:

History
Concorde at Abidjan Airport, 1978
Check-in area
Departure gates
Business lounge

The airport is managed by Aeria, a private Ivorian company, who continually developed the airport over the decades and contributed to making it one of the most modern and one of the main hubs of West Africa. It is also a strategic piece of infrastructure for both the delivery of military equipment and, in times of unrest, the evacuation of foreign nationals.

Air Afrique, which was based in Abidjan, ceased all flights in January 2002.[2] Disturbances that took place in Ivory Coast in the early 2000s had a negative impact on the airport. In November 2004, during the French–Ivorian clashes that occurred in Abidjan, the airport was looted and damaged. It was taken back by French troops and returned to the Ivorian government in the second half of November. The airport was later refurbished by the Ivorian government and modernized with new modern facilities.

On the night of 2 to 3 April 2011, the airport was again taken by the French troops in order to evacuate French nationals and foreigners, as the final assault against the presidential palace was announced, during the battle for Abidjan.[3][4] After the civil war ended in April 2011, the airport was returned to the Ivorian government and development projects, paused for almost a decade, were restarted.

Following the gradual recovery of economic activities in Ivory Coast from 2012, investments and projects to increase the capacity of the airport, provided in March 2010,[5] are in the works since October 2011.[6]

In February 2012, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, president of Aeria's board of directors, indicated that he wanted to make the airport suitable for the Airbus A380. Air France did not deny that it could eventually use the A380 on the Paris-Abidjan route if there were sufficiently strong economic growth.[7]

On 4 May 2012, PROPARCO loans 10 billion CFA francs (15 million euros) to Aeria to fund a major expansion and modernization program for the airport. This loan is part of the renewal of Aeria's concession, effective 1 January 2010, for a period of 20 years. This concession provides investment programs in increments of five years. The first slice of 24 million dollars, includes the renovation of the international terminal, the rehabilitation of the charter terminal and development of new infrastructure.[8][9]

In addition, the refurbishment included an extension of the international terminal of a surface 11,000 to 26,000 m2 (120,000 to 280,000 sq ft), the refurbishment of the aircraft parking area, renovation of access roads and the construction of a new parking lot. The ultimate goal is to create a commercial zone next to the airport, with a lodging area, hangars, a convention center, a free zone, office buildings, warehouses, exhibition halls, a shopping center and housing for dedicated staff.[10] On 16 June 2012, the Radisson Hotels group announced the laying of the first stone of the Radisson Blu hotel on the airport grounds.[11] The Radisson Blu opened in the spring of 2016 and has over 200 rooms and suites, as well as a restaurant, outdoor pool and fitness center.[12][13] Also on the airport grounds, ONOMO Hotels operates a 118-room select-service property.[14] Both the ONOMO and the Radisson Blu are accessible from the passenger terminal via shuttle buses.

Ethiopian Airlines commenced direct flights to Newark aboard Boeing 787s in May 2018. The route was the product of negotiations between Ethiopian and the Ivorian government.[15][16] The company signed a codeshare agreement with Air Côte d'Ivoire to attract passengers.[17] Tens of thousands were left homeless in January 2020 as homes in Adjoufou, a shanty town near the airport, were demolished, officially for safety reasons. Residents said they were targeted because they are poor.[18] Two months later, Ethiopian suspended its link to Newark because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] In June 2023, the carrier began service to New York City.[19]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Air Algérie Algiers
Air Burkina Accra, Bobo-Dioulasso, Ouagadougou
Air Côte d'Ivoire Abuja, Accra, Bamako, Bissau,[20] Bouaké, Brazzaville, Casablanca,[21] Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar–Diass, Kinshasa–N'djili, Korhogo, Lagos, Libreville, Lomé, Man, Monrovia–Roberts, Niamey, Odienné, Ouagadougou, Pointe-Noire, San Pédro, Yaoundé
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Senegal Dakar–Diass[22]
ASKY Airlines Lomé
Brussels Airlines Accra, Brussels, Cotonou, Ouagadougou
Corsair International Paris–Orly
Emirates Accra, Dubai–International
Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa, Conakry, New York–JFK
Kenya Airways Nairobi–Jomo Kenyatta
Mauritania Airlines Bamako, Nouakchott
Middle East Airlines Beirut, Lagos
Qatar Airways Accra, Doha
Royal Air Maroc Casablanca
South African Airways Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo (resumes 14 November 2023)[23]
Tunisair Niamey, Ouagadougou, Tunis
Turkish Airlines Cotonou, Istanbul

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux Accra
Ethiopian Cargo Addis Ababa, Libreville, Liege
Swiftair Accra, Lagos

Statistics

Before the decade of political and military turmoil, the Felix-Houphouet-Boigny airport was among the most important in West Africa, with passenger traffic exceeding one million travelers in the late 1990s. The succession of political and military crises seriously affected the country's image and reduced the importance of the airport in the sub-region in terms of traffic; but in recent years, as stability and strong economic growth have returned, airport traffic has been growing at a fast pace, and is now at its highest ever. In 2021, the airport handled 1,514,629 passengers.[24]

Annual passenger traffic at ABJ airport. See Wikidata query.
Approximate traveler attendance per year
199819992000200420092010201120122013201520162017 201920202021
1,253,000*[25]1,250,000[26]1,083,000[27]700,000[26]900,0001,000,000[28]640,000[29]961,643[30]1,178,362[31]1,560,000[32]1,829,000[32]2,070,000[33] 2,271,700[24]838,992[34]1,514,629[35]

Ground transport

The airport is to be served by the new Abidjan Metro, construction of which started in November 2017. The metro should enter commercial service in 2022 and reach the airport by mid-2023.[36]

Accidents and incidents
  • 12 July 1972: an Italian living in the Ivory Coast took his wife and son hostage and boarded an unknown UTA plane here, demanding to be flown to Italy. A gun battle broke out with police officers in which he shot and injured his wife; he was later apprehended. He was in a custody battle for his child due to marital issues.[37]
  • 25 July 1977: a MBB HFB-320 Hansa Jet (5N-AMF) owned by Motor Parts Manuf. was on approach during an executive flight and struck the sea 500 m off of runway 03, killing all 3 occupants. The crew did not have a flight plan.[38]
  • 3 January 1987: a Varig Boeing 707-379C registration PP-VJK operating flight 797 from Abidjan to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão crashed due to a failure on engine 1 shortly after take-off. While attempting to return to the airport for an emergency landing, it crashed on a field 18 km away from Abidjan's airport. Of the 51 passengers and crew aboard, a single passenger survived.[39][40]
  • 15 January 1993: a Boeing 707-321C (YR-ABM) on cargo route Air Afrique Flight 153 (Cotonou-Abidjan) undershot runway 21 by 30 m after an ILS approach, cauisng the main landing gear to collapse. The plane was written off; all 6 occupants survived.[41]
  • 26 June 1994: a Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M (TU-TIP) on passenger route Air Ivoire Flight 777 (San Pedro-Abidjan) crashed into a wooded area 3 nm (3.45 miles) short of the runway at 19:40 with flaps and undercarriage still retracted, killing all 17 occupants.[42]
  • 12 April 1997: a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 (9G-ACM) on passenger route Ghana Airways Flight 560 (Accra-Abidjan) veered to the left and ran off the side of the runway on its second landing attempt in heavy rainfall and poor visibility, causing the undercarriage to collapse. The plane was written off; all 104 occupants survived.[43]
  • 26 June 1998: a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (ZS-MSL) of the UN leased from Federal Aviation crashed on approach from Lome at 19:45, killing all 7 occupants. The flight was executive.[44]
  • 30 January 2000: Kenya Airways flight 431, crashed into the sea shortly after take-off from Port Bouet. Of the 179 passengers and crew on board the Airbus A310, only ten people survived.
  • 14 October 2017: an Antonov An-26-100 (ER-AVB) on cargo route Valan International Cargo Charter Flight 26 (Ouagadougou-Abidjan) crashed in the sea on approach 0.8 km (0.5 miles) south of the airport, killing 4 of the 10 occupants. The crash was found to have been caused by underestimation of weather, lack of knowledge about Abidjan, and inadequate instrument monitoring.[45]

References
  1. "Abidjan Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport Guide (ABJ)". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. Mackenzie, Christina (18 February 2002). "Air Afrique reaches end of the line". Flight International. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. La force française Licorne prend le contrôle de l'aéroport d'Abidjan – France 24
  4. Inquiétude pour la communauté française d'Abidjan – Le Monde Afrique
  5. Modernisation et extension de Aéria – Banzio pour le déguerpissement des populations – Le Temps sur Abidjan.net
  6. Inauguration de l'aérogare charter d'Abidjan, Soro rallume les réacteurs du développement – Nord-Sud sur Abidjan.net
  7. Air France, qui propose déjà sept vols hebdomadaires entre Paris et Abidjan opérés par des Boeing B777-200 et des B777-300, va augmenter de façon pérenne dès son programme d'été... – La Tribune
  8. L'aéroport Houphouët-Boigny se modernise – Journal d'Abidjan Archived 22 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Modernisation de l'aéroport d'Abidjan financé par Proparco – Marchés Tropicaux & Méditerranéens Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Fichier PDF d'explication succincte du projet de modernisation et d'extension de l'aéroport FHB, sur geomensura.fr" (PDF). Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  11. Radisson Blu Hotel Abidjan Airport for Ivory Coast – Hotel & Restaurant.co.za
  12. Abidjan aura son Radisson Blu – Jeune Afrique Économie Archived 9 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Radisson Blu: Un hôtel flambant neuf dans 24 mois, à Port-Bouët – Nord-Sud sur Abidjan.net
  14. "ONOMO Hotel Abidjan Airport". ONOMO Hotels. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  15. "Ethiopian Airlines a inauguré son premier vol direct entre Abidjan et New York". AllAfrica.com (in French). 12 May 2018. ProQuest 2038223793.
  16. "Ethiopian Airlines disappoints with Abidjan-Newark line closure". Africa Intelligence. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  17. "Ethiopian Airlines and Air Côte d'Ivoire Enter Codeshare Agreement on Routes between West Africa and the USA: Addis Ababa, May 9, 2018". Ethiopian Airlines. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  18. Ivory Coast demolitions: Shantytown near airport cleared by Laura Burdon-Manley, Al Jazeera, 24 Jan 2020
  19. "Ethiopian Airlines to resume flights between Abidjan, New York". New Business Ethiopia. 23 February 2023. ProQuest 2779444892.
  20. "Air Cote d'Ivoire Adds Bissau; Increases Dakar Service mid-May 2022". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  21. "Air Cote d'Ivoire Moves Casablanca Launch to Jan 2023". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. "Air Senegal outlines proposed regional network from late-Sep 2018". routesonline.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  23. "SAA Rebounds, Adding Eight Aircraft, Nine New Destinations".
  24. "Côte d'Ivoire : Le trafic aérien a bondi de 80% à fin décembre 2021".
  25. Aéroport d'Abidjan: bilan positif, de gros investissements en vue - article d'Acturoutes publié le 5 mars 2014.
  26. Interview with Général Abdoulaye Coulibaly – L'Expression on Abidjan.net
  27. Rognone, DG AERIA : « Les temps sont durs » - article de Ouest Afrique Économie publié le 2 décembre 2001.
  28. L'A380 d'Air France sur la ligne Abidjan-Paris décollera en avril 2014 - article d'Acturoutes publié le 23 mai 2013.
  29. Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport : Charter terminal works launched yesterday – L'Expression on Abidjan.net. Consulté le 16 novembre 2012.
  30. Félix Houphouët-Boigny airport : a 50% passenger increase in 2012 – a FratMat.info article published on the 28th of Janvier 2013 Archived 31 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  31. Infrastructures aéroportuaires / Modernisation de l’aéroport d’Abidjan : 21 milliards FCFA investis dans la réhabilitation et l’extension de l’aérogare de fret - article from L’intelligent d’Abidjan on Abidjan.net published on 3 March 2014.
  32. "Abidjan : cinq ans de hausse de trafic à l'aéroport – JeuneAfrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  33. "Trafic record : L'aéroport international d'Abidjan a accueilli plus de deux millions de passagers en 2017". Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  34. "Côte d'Ivoire : Le trafic aérien a bondi de 80% à fin décembre 2021".
  35. "Côte d'Ivoire : Le trafic aérien a bondi de 80% à fin décembre 2021".
  36. Bath, Irene (5 December 2017). "Infrastructures économiques : Tout savoir sur le métro d'Abidjan" (in French). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  37. "ASN Aircraft accident unknown registration unknown Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  38. "ASN Aircraft accident MBB HFB-320 Hansa Jet 5N-AMF Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  39. "Accident description PP-VJK". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  40. Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Na escuridão da noite africana". O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 345–351. ISBN 978-85-7430-760-2.
  41. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321C YR-ABM Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  42. "ASN Aircraft accident Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M TU-TIP Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  43. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 9G-ACM Abidjan Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  44. "ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 200 Super King Air ZS-MSL Abidjan Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  45. "ASN Aircraft accident Antonov An-26-100 ER-AVB Abidjan-Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport (ABJ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 14 July 2023.

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