Francisco Mendes International Airport was an airport located on
Santiago Island in
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
. It was opened in 1961. It was located about 2 km east of central
Praia
Praia (, Portuguese language, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde. in the southeastern part of the island of Santiago. After Cape Verdean independence, the airport was named after
Francisco Mendes
Francisco Mendes, ''nom de guerre'' Chico Té (February 7, 1939 – July 7, 1978), was a Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean politician. He was the country's first List of prime ministers of Guinea-Bissau, Prime Minister and held that position from Sep ...
, a
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
independence activist and that country's first Prime Minister.
History
On 28 September 1998, a
TACV
Cabo Verde Airlines is an international airline based in Cape Verde. It connects three continents with non-stop flights from their hub at Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island.
History
Cabo Verde Airlines was established in 1958. ...
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...
(
registered D4-CAX) carrying
Carlos Veiga
Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga (; born October 21, 1949 in Mindelo) is a Cape Verdean politician. He was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from April 4, 1991 to July 29, 2000.
Early life and education
In 1950, Veiga was born in Mindelo, São ...
, then
Prime Minister of Cape Verde
This article lists the prime ministers of Cape Verde, an island country in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa, since the establishment of the office of prime minister in 1975. Pedro Pires was the first person to hold the office, ta ...
, 18 other passengers and three crew members crash-landed at the airport. There was one fatality (a bodyguard of the prime minister) and four people were injured.
In late 2005, the airport was deactivated, and replaced by the new Praia International Airport (since 2012
Nelson Mandela International Airport
Nelson Mandela International Airport , also known as Praia International Airport, is the airport of Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in October 2005, replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3&nbs ...
).
References
Defunct airports
Airports in Cape Verde
{{CapeVerde-airport-stub