Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport (formerly known as Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport) (IATA: COO, ICAO: DBBB) is an airport in the Cadjehoun neighborhood of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, in West Africa. The airport is the largest in the country, and as such, is the primary entry point into the country by air, with flights to Africa and Europe.
Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Serves | Cotonou and Porto-Novo, Benin | ||||||||||
| Hub for | Rwandair[1] | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 6 m / 19 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 6°21′21″N 2°23′06″E / 6.35583°N 2.38500°E | ||||||||||
| Website | aeroport-de-cotonou | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  COO Location of Airport in Benin | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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The airport was renamed after cardinal Bernardin Gantin in 2021.[3]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Cargo
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Allied Air | Lagos, Libreville |
| Air France Cargo | Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
Statistics
| Passengers | Change from previous year | Aircraft operations | Change from previous year | Cargo (metric tons) | Change from previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 401,073 |  20.79% | 9,274 | 13.96% | 5,772 | 36.94% |
| 2008 | 394,444 |  1.65% | 9,915 | 6.91% | 10,091 | 74.83% |
| 2009 | 391,318 | 0.79% | 10,209 | 2.97% | 8,081 | 19.92% |
| 2010 | 406,491 | 3.88% | 11,604 | 13.66% | 6,047 | 25.17% |
| 2011 | 432,500 | 6.40% | N.D. | N.D. | 6,829 | 12.93% |
| 2012 | 481,389 | 11.30% | N.D. | N.D. | 6,959 | 1.90% |
| 2013 | 470,068 | 2.35% | 11,876 | N.D. | 6,506 | 6.51% |
| 2014 | 503,633 | 7.14% | 11,855 | 0.18% | 7,995 | 22.89% |
| Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Reports (Years 2005,[9] 2006,[10] 2007,[11] 2009,[12] 2011,[13] 2012,[14] 2013,[15] and 2014[16]) | ||||||
Accidents and incidents
- UTA Flight 141: On 25 December 2003, the airplane crashed in the Bight of Benin, killing 141 of the 163 occupants, most of them Lebanese.
Replacement
In 1974, it was decided to move the operations of the Cotonou international airport to a new facility in Glo-Djigbé. Lack of funding quickly stopped the project.
Plans were revived in 2011, and President Yayi Boni presided at a ceremonial start to the construction of the new airport, using South African funding.[17] Construction on the new facility appears to have stalled again.[18]
Meanwhile, improvements to the Cotonou airport were initiated.[19][20]
References
External links
- Cotonou airport – Cotonou airport website
- OurAirports – Cotonou
