International Airport (Aéroport International de Cotonou - Cardinal Bernardin Gantin) 

Cotonou-Cadjehoun Airport is the only international airport of the country. It is located about 5km from downtown. Cotonou International Airport is the largest airport in Benin. Its international code (IATA code) is COO. This is the one that appears on your luggage labels when you take a flight to Benin. Its ICAO code is DBBB. It was renamed Cardinal Bernardin Gantin International Airport by President Thomas Yayi Boni. Cardinal Bernardin Gantin deceased on May 13, 2008, was a Benin cardinal who was the first African to head a dicastery in Saint-Pierre-de-Rome. 

The Cotonou International Airport allows domestic service as well as international and intercontinental flights and is also a base of the Benin Air Force and a place of practice of leisure aviation.  

Geo-location 

Runways 

The airport complex covers 250 hectares at an altitude close to that of the sea (6m). Its single-track measures 2400 meters over a width of 45 meters on a 06/24 orientation.  

The parking space is wide and there are good security conditions. The airport is well equipped (light, markings on the ground, tie down facilities, etc). Maintenance and unloading areas are available. Fuel access is located on the parking area (Bouche RVT KER Fuel hydrant service: 6 M).  

AD (Aérodrome) prohibited for ACFT not equipped with bilateral radio communications. Circuit pattem on the right obligatory for RWY 24 and circuit pattem on the right prohibited for RWY 06. U-turn on runway prohibited for ACFT superior to 40 T weight. Obligatory U-tum on the tum-over aeras at the end of runway. 

So, the aircraft can taxi directly to the location for refuelling. There are five possible fuel connections. MIL: 4700 M2 - CIV: NA Surface: Bitumen and bituminous concretes Strength: B 747 and A300.  

Width: 22 M (TWY A) - 21,10 M (TWY B) Surface: Bituminous concretes Strength: TWY A: B 747 - TWY B: NA 

Guide lines at apron and ground markings. Ground guide lines on TWY.  RWY: White lights LIH and yellow on the last 600 meters. Raquettes: Blue lights with B 747 tum-around system - TWY: Blue lights LIL. 

There isn’t in the others AD in Benin, any local meteorological center able to provide air navigation protection. This service is provided, on requested, by COTONOU main meteorological center with which air protection request at the departure AD must be formulated with a minimum notice of 4 hours. 

Helicopter Pad(s) 

There is no Helicopter Pads at the Benin airport. The Airport authorities are using some nevertheless spaces of the aeroplanes for helicopters like the planes parking area inside the domestic terminal. 

Airport Infrastructure Details 

As per the news obtained from airport authorities, the Renovation work on the former parking area took place between May and September 2013. However, some of it still needs to be done continuously, as the car park routes on the renovated areas, including the positions for the wide-body aircraft. The new arrival hall has finally opened in early December 2017 after a delay of more than a year.  

However, there is still a deterioration of the state of the airport equipment including for the most recent equipment with recurring breakdowns (eg all X-Ray emergency scanners are down). 

Finally, the state of the airport fence is becoming more and more worrying with holes in some places. It is therefore necessary to rehabilitate and enhance it as soon as possible. 

The airfield and the equipment are well maintained. Accessible sanitary facilities, shops, parking, refreshments and air-conditioned halls allow passengers to wait for their flight in the best conditions. With a flight timeliness greater than 90%, the Cotonou International Airport guarantees you a flawless air experience. 

To facilitate the trip, they advise all the passengers to take all the necessary measures to be in order with the sanitary formalities (vaccines, vaccination book), customs and administrative (passport, visa, etc.). 

Passenger and Cargo Performance Indicator 

Cotonou International Airport recorded for the month of November 2022: 

❖42,631 passengers (20,462 arrivals & 20,355 departures), 

❖684 movements and 

❖395 tonnes of cargo (160 Import & 235 Export). 

Passenger traffic (42,631): an increase of (+26%) compared to traffic in November 2021. 

The Maghreb & the West occupies first place with 17,966 passengers, second place goes to West Africa with 12,223 passengers and Central Africa occupies 3rd place with 7,494 passengers. Cumulative traffic is +32% compared at the same time of year 2021. 

Aircraft movements (684): an increase of (+5%) compared to aircraft movement traffic in November 2021. West Africa occupies first place with 313 movements, the Maghreb & the West occupies second place with 189 movements, Central Africa comes in third position with 189 movements, and finally East Africa & Australia occupies last place with 34 movements. Cumulative traffic is +18% compared to the same period of the year 2021. 

Link to the statistics 

Airport Operating Details 

Cotonou Airport is managed by Paris International Airport (PIA). Based on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee set up by the Beninese State to define a better management framework for Benin's aerodromes, the Beninese Government authorized the creation of a public-law, the holding and management of airport assets in Benin. As such, it has been established that specialized companies recruited to manage. Therefore, the government has agreed to negotiate with Paris International Airport for the management of Cotonou Airport. 

The contract for the completion of the work of Glo-Djigbé International Airport (40 Km out of Cotonou) was signed between Benin and China in 2017. The execution of this contract will last three (3) years, and the technical follow-up is entrusted to the Paris airport. China has promised to deliver the brand-new airport before 2021. It will be remembered that this project is one of the first to be tackled by the Government as soon as it is taken over and re-stated in the PAG Government's action program. From now on, its realization enters in its active phase and associates China, France and Benin. The Council of Ministers yesterday validated this project whose outcome will reveal even more Benin our country in the sub region and in the world. Slowly but surely the government of Patrice Talon accomplishes without hype the sites announced to the Beninese people 

It’s to note that the former President Yayi Boni has inaugurated on April 5, 2016 (the day before the investiture of President Talon), Tourou airport located in the city of Parakou in the north of the country. Infrastructure is still under construction, and that work is still struggling to move forward.  

Facilities details  

Storage Facilities 

Modem handling facilities Weight limited under 14000 KGS 

Airfield Cost 

Navigation Charges 

The Authorities of the airport applied to the passenger services the following charges: 

• 1 700 XOF per departing passenger for domestic flights 

• 10 000 XOF per departing passenger for international tax.  

• 8 350 XOF per passenger for transportation charge 

• 1 000 XOF per passenger for security for domestic flights 

• 5 200 XOF per passenger for international flights.