# Nelson Mandela International Airport (RAI / GVNP) **Nelson Mandela International Airport** (IATA: RAI, ICAO: GVNP) is a large airport in Praia, Sotavento Islands, Cape Verde. It opened on 6 Oct 2005. It has one runway, 2,100 m (6,890 ft) long, asphalt. It is operated by Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea. In 2024 it handled 670 thousand passengers. Web page: https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvnp ## At a glance - IATA / ICAO: RAI / GVNP - Type: Large airport - Operator: Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea - Serves: Praia, Sotavento Islands, Cape Verde - Opened: 6 Oct 2005 - Elevation: 70 m / 230 ft - Coordinates: 14.9411, -23.4847 - Runways: 1 - Longest runway: 2,100 m / 6,890 ft - Passengers: 669,697 (2024) - Time zone: UTC-1 · Atlantic/Cape_Verde - Website: http://www.asa.cv/aeroportos/aeroporto-da-praia/ - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela_International_Airport (27 languages) - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1191196 - Weather station: GVNP - Ident: GVNP ## Timeline - 6 Oct 2005: Nelson Mandela International Airport opens. ## Runways | Ident | Length | Width | Surface | True headings | Lighted | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 03/21 | 2,100 m / 6,890 ft | 45 m / 148 ft | Asphalt | 022° / 202° | | ## Passengers per year | Year | Passengers | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | 2013 | 505,497 | Wikidata | | 2014 | 522,584 | Wikidata | | 2015 | 497,237 | Wikidata | | 2016 | 522,584 | Wikidata | | 2017 | 662,356 | Wikidata | | 2018 | 637,340 | Wikidata | | 2019 | 648,970 | Wikidata | | 2020 | 210,362 | Wikidata | | 2021 | 331,186 | Wikidata | | 2022 | 519,459 | Wikidata | | 2023 | 601,935 | Wikidata | | 2024 | 669,697 | Wikidata | ## Routes 12 destinations in 8 countries. From the airport's Wikipedia article. ### Year-round (6) - [DSS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gobd.md) Blaise Diagne International Airport · Senegal · 690 km / 429 mi · Asky Airlines, Air Senegal, Transair (Senegal) - [PDL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lppd.md) João Paulo II Airport · Portugal · 2,545 km / 1,581 mi · Azores Airlines - [CMN](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gmmn.md) Mohammed V International Airport · Morocco · 2,600 km / 1,616 mi · Royal Air Maroc - [LFW](https://dromopedia.com/airports/dxxx.md) Lomé–Tokoin International Airport · Togo · 2,872 km / 1,785 mi · Asky Airlines - [LIS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lppt.md) Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport · Portugal · 3,000 km / 1,864 mi · easyJet, TAP Air Portugal - [OPO](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lppr.md) Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport · Portugal · 3,255 km / 2,023 mi · easyJet, TAP Air Portugal ### Seasonal (6) - [MRS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lfml.md) Marseille Provence Airport · France · 4,177 km / 2,595 mi · Transavia France - [LYS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lfll.md) Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport · France · 4,339 km / 2,696 mi · Transavia France - [ORY](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lfpo.md) Paris-Orly Airport · France · 4,435 km / 2,756 mi · Transavia France - [ZRH](https://dromopedia.com/airports/lszh.md) Zürich Airport · Switzerland · 4,664 km / 2,898 mi · Edelweiss Air - [LUX](https://dromopedia.com/airports/ellx.md) Luxembourg-Findel International Airport · Luxembourg · 4,699 km / 2,920 mi · Luxair - [AMS](https://dromopedia.com/airports/eham.md) Amsterdam Airport Schiphol · Netherlands · 4,846 km / 3,011 mi · Transavia France ## Airlines The figure is how many destinations each airline flies from RAI, as the routes above have them. Hubs from Wikidata. ### Passenger (10) - TO [Transavia France](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/transavia-france) · 4 · seasonal - KP [Asky Airlines](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/asky-airlines) · 2 - U2 [easyJet](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/easyjet) · 2 - TP [TAP Air Portugal](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/tap-air-portugal) · 2 - HC [Air Senegal](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/air-senegal) · 1 - S4 [Azores Airlines](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/azores-airlines) · 1 - WK [Edelweiss Air](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/edelweiss-air) · 1 · seasonal - LG [Luxair](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/luxair) · 1 · seasonal - AT [Royal Air Maroc](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/royal-air-maroc) · 1 - [Transair](https://dromopedia.com/airlines/transair) · 1 ## Rankings Ranked among 48,075 open airports; = marks a shared place. | Measure | Value | World | Region | Country | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Passengers | 670K (2024) | #985 of 3,974 | #60 in Africa | #2 in CV | | Longest runway | 2,100 m / 6,890 ft | =3,582 of 29,858 | =412 in Africa | =2 in CV | | Elevation | 70 m / 230 ft | =33,140 of 43,403 | =2,740 in Africa | #3 in CV | | Age | Opened 2005 | =12,076 of 15,079 | =118 in Africa | #5 in CV | | Runways | 1 | =4,364 of 29,978 | =176 in Africa | =1 in CV | ## Radio frequencies | Type | Description | MHz | | --- | --- | --- | | APP | PRAIA APP | 118.200 | | TWR | PRAIA TWR | 118.200 | ## Nearby airports - [MMO](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvma.md) Maio Airport · 38 km / 23 mi - [MTI](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvmt.md) Mosteiros Airport · 93 km / 57 mi - [SFL](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvsf.md) São Filipe Airport · 107 km / 67 mi - [BVC](https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvba.md) Aristides Pereira International Airport · 147 km / 92 mi ## Sources - [NOAA Aviation Weather Center](https://aviationweather.gov/data/api/): Weather data: NOAA Aviation Weather Center (Public Domain (US Government)) - [OurAirports](https://ourairports.com/data/): Airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain) - [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org): Structured data from Wikidata (CC0 1.0) - [Wikipedia: “Nelson Mandela International Airport”](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nelson_Mandela_International_Airport&oldid=1370233408), revision of 19 Aug 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0) - [timezone-boundary-builder](https://github.com/evansiroky/timezone-boundary-builder): Time zone boundaries © OpenStreetMap contributors, timezone-boundary-builder (ODbL 1.0) - Every figure with its source: https://dromopedia.com/airports/gvnp/data