Ahmed Sékou Touré International Airport[1]Шаблон:Airport codes, also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport serving Conakry, capital of the Republic of Guinea 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 (Ident: GIA) and Conakry NDB (Ident: CY) are located on the field.[2][3]
In the 1970s, Soviet Naval Aviation was granted facilities at the airport to serve as a staging base for Atlantic maritime reconnaissance patrols by Tu-95RTs aircraft.
It was reported in 1975 that most of the Guinean air force's aircraft were based at Conakry-Gbessia Airport.[5] Current air force operations are conducted out of the Conakry-Gbessia Airport.
All non-ECOWAS foreigners are required to have a valid Guinean visa and a vaccination card in order to be granted entry. Yellow fever vaccination cards are verified upon entry into the country at Gbessia.
As of 2010, the airport possesses no radar and guides all planes in by sight. Night flights by European airlines require pilots to do a fly over of the runway following a near miss of a landing Air FranceA330 from Paris and a departing Air Senegal InternationalBoeing 737-700 to Dakar.
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).[6] The government debated in 2007 whether to relocate the Conakry Airport to Forecariah, although no official changes have been declared, as of 2011.[7] 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.[8]
On December 13, 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 (AFD) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bordeaux (CCIB) within the Conakry Airport Management and Exploitation Company (SOGEAC).[9]
On 28 July 2010, a Mauritania AirwaysBoeing 737 leased from Tunisair operating from Dakar 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.[14]
On 2 September 2022, engine 2 of TAP Air Portugal 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. Engine 2 of the plane was damaged from the collision.[15][16]
