South African regional and domestic airline Airlink has announced that, with effect from March 1, its service to the Angolan capital city of Luanda will be operated to and from the new Dr Agostinho Neto International Airport. Currently, the service, which departs from and returns to Johannesburg, is flown to and from the 4 de Fevereiro Airport.

This change is in line with the Angolan policy of shifting both international and domestic flights from the old to the new airports. The new airport is located some 45 km east of Luanda, and is linked to that city by the EN-230 Catete Highway (Estrada de Catete). Outside peak hours, the drive normally takes some 45 minutes, but the route can suffer congestion during rush hour.

“With Angola’s economic diversification and growth strategy, the country is rapidly emerging as an important Airlink market for business travel, with Luanda as the primary gateway,” highlighted Airlink CEO de Villiers Englebrecht. “The state-of-the-art new airport promises to facilitate smooth and efficient passenger, baggage and cargo flows, and a comfortable experience for our travellers.”

Airlink will continue to operate four return flights a week between Johannesburg and Luanda. They are operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flights from Johannesburg are coded 4Z 044 and depart at 09h40, arriving in Luanda at 12h30. The return flights are coded 4Z 045 and leave Luanda at 13h25 the same day and land back at Johannesburg at 17h50. (All times are local time.)

The airline assured that the new airport was well-signposted, in both Portuguese and English. Airlink aircraft will both arrive and leave from the international terminal’s gate B20. The carrier’s customer service desk is at Counter D. All airport passenger charges and taxes are included in the ticket price.

Check-in at the new airport will open two hours before flight departure time. Online check-in is allowed in Angola, with passengers required to download digital copies of their boarding passes. While airport immigration is fitted with electronic e-gate scanners, passengers are still required to physically show their passports and get them stamped.

The service is operated by Airlink with its 98-seat Embraer E190 jetliners, configured with business and economy classes, with the seats arranged in a 2 + 1 layout. The airline started its Johannesburg-Luanda service in 2021.