Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport , also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport serving

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, capital of the

Republic of Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

in West Africa. It parallels the south shore of the Kaloum Peninsula approximately five kilometers from its tip. Autoroute Fidel Castro connects the airport to Conakry proper. The Conakry

VOR/DME In radio navigation, a VOR/DME is a radio beacon that combines a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) with a distance-measuring equipment (DME). The VOR allows the receiver to measure its bearing to or from the beacon, while the DME provides the sla ...

(Ident: GIA) and Conakry

NDB NDB may refer to: Finance * National development bank, set up by a country's government to improve that country's economy * New Development Bank, a development bank jointly operated by the BRICS nations * NDB Bank, Sri Lankan commercial bank Pol ...

(Ident: CY) are located on the field.

History

The airport was built in 1945. In the 1970s,

Soviet Naval Aviation Soviet Naval Aviation (AV-MF, ) was the naval aviation arm of the Soviet Navy. Origins The first naval aviation units in Russia were formed in 1912–1914 as a part of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet. During World War I, the hydro ...

was granted facilities at the airport to serve as a staging base for Atlantic maritime reconnaissance patrols by

Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the Soviet Air Forces in 1956 and ...

RTs aircraft. It was reported in 1975 that most of the Guinean air force's aircraft were based at Conakry-Gbessia Airport. Current air force operations are conducted out of the Conakry-Gbessia Airport. In 2009, with a goal to increase annual passenger capacity to 1 million passengers, renovations began on the main terminal. Renovation costs amounted to 60 billion GNF (Around 85 million EUR). The government debated in 2007 whether to relocate the Conakry Airport to Forecariah, although no official changes have been declared, as of 2011. Traditionally, passengers embarked on all flights directly on the tarmac with transfers to the airport either by foot (most inter West African flights) or by buses for all European flights. The new renovations included gateways and an improved passenger departure lounge. As of January 2011, no changes have been made to the arrivals (customs and luggage carousels). The airport, as of 2012, has 360,000+ passengers per year. On 13 December 2022, the Guinean State becomes 100% owner of SOGEAC, by acquiring 49% of the shares held by Aéroports De Paris (ADP), the

French Development Agency The French Development Agency (, AFD), known from 1992 to 1998 as the Caisse Française de Développement (CFD, ), is a public financial institution that implements France's development and international solidarity policies. It works to fight pov ...

(AFD) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bordeaux (CCIB) within the Conakry Airport Management and Exploitation Company (SOGEAC).

Airlines and destinations

;Notes: :

Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...

' flight to Dubai–International from Conakry makes an initial stop in Dakar, but the flight Dubai–International to Conakry is nonstop. Emirates does not have fifth freedom rights on the Dakar to Conakry sector.

Statistics

Incidents and accidents

* On 3 September 1978, an Air Guinee

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...

from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to Conakry crashed into marshland near Conakry. 15 of the total 17 occupants were killed. One crewmember and one passenger survived. The aircraft was destroyed. * On 1 July 1983, a Chosonminhang (predecessor to

Air Koryo Air Koryo () is North Korea's flag carrier and only commercial airline. It is state-owned and controlled by the North Korean air force. Headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang, it operates domestic and international routeson a regular schedul ...

)

Ilyushin Il-62M The Ilyushin Il-62 (; NATO reporting name: Classic) is a Soviet long-range narrow-body jetliner conceived in 1960 by Ilyushin. As a successor to the popular turboprop Il-18 and with capacity for almost 200 passengers and crew, the Il-62 was ...

on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from

Pyongyang Sunan International Airport Pyongyang International Airport () , also known as Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (), is the sole international airport serving Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea and located in the city's Sunan District. History Early years During ...

to Conakry via

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

crashed at the

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon (, , ; ) is a Highland (geography), highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the region Fouta Jallon Kingdom, Fuuta-Jaloo ( ) in the Pular l ...

Mountains in

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

. All 17 passengers and 6 crew on board were killed, and the aircraft was written off. * On 19 November 2000, a

Ghana Airways Ghana Airways Limited was the flag carrier of Ghana, with its main base of operation and hub at Kotoka International Airport in Accra. The airline ceased operations in 2004, although plans were discussed to revive it in 2020 in partnership with ...

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

from

Kotoka International Airport Kotoka International Airport is an international airport in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The airport is operated by Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), which has its offices on the airport property. Until the upgrading of the Tamale and Ku ...

(in Accra) via

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

and

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

with 42 passengers and 8 crew performed a gear-up landing in Conakry. The plane was written off. * In 2007, a Guinean Air Force

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

departing from Conakry crashed into the

Radio Télévision Guinéenne Radio Télévision Guinéenne (RTG) is a public broadcaster of the West African state of Guinea. Radio Télévision Guinéenne is headquartered in the capital city of Conakry. Background and history Radio broadcasting in Guinea started in the c ...

headquarters. The Russian pilot ejected and was unharmed. * On 28 July 2010, a Mauritania Airways

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

leased from

Tunisair Tunisair () is the national airline of Tunisia. Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to four continents. Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International Airport. The airline's head office is in Tunis, near Tunis Airport. ...

operating from

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

to Conakry with 91 passengers and 6 crew overran the end of the runway in heavy rain. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. * On 2 September 2022, engine 2 of

TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its airline hub, hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2, ...

Flight 1492, an Airbus A320-251N, struck a motorcycle that crossed runway 24 during the plane's landing roll. Both riders on the motorcycle perished; however, no one on board the plane was injured. The motorcycle driver was found to be an airport security agent. Engine 2 of the plane was damaged from the collision.

References

External links