{{Short description|International Airport of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox airport | name = Thomas Sankara International Airport Ouagadougou | nativename =Aéroport International Thomas Sankara Ouagadougou | image =File:Air Burkina 2012.jpg |image-width= 275 | IATA = OUA | ICAO = DFFD | pushpin_map = Burkina Faso | pushpin_map_caption = Location of the airport in Burkina Faso | pushpin_label = OUA | pushpin_label_position = right | type = Public / military | timezone = Greenwich Mean Time | utc = UTC±00:00 | owner = | operator = | city-served = Ouagadougou | location = Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | hub = Air Burkina | elevation-f = 1,037 | elevation-m = 316 | coordinates = {{coord|12|21|11|N|01|30|44|W|type:airport|display=inline,title}} | website = {{URL|www.aeroport-ouagadougou.com}} | metric-rwy = y | r1-number = 04/22 | r1-length-f = 9,934 | r1-length-m = 3,028 | r1-surface = Asphalt | stat-year = 2020 | stat1-header = Passengers | stat1-data = 245,280 | footnotes = Source<ref name="insd">{{cite web |url=http://www.insd.bf/contenu/pub_periodiques/annuaires_stat/Annuaires_stat_nationaux_BF/Annuaire_Statistique_National_2020.pdf|website=insd.bf |title=ANNUAIRE STATISTIQUE 2020 |trans-title=Yearly Statistics 2020 |page=256 |publisher=Institut national de la statistique et de la démographie (INSD) |format=PDF; 1.608&nbsp;KB |language=fr |access-date=11 February 2023}}</ref> }}

thumb|Aerial photograph of Ouagadougou with airport runway visible at centre

'''Thomas Sankara International Airport Ouagadougou''' {{airport codes|OUA|DFFD}} is an international airport serving Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It was built in the 1960s, and it is approximately {{convert|1.5|km|mi|0}} southeast of the main commercial area. The site itself is approximately {{convert|4.8|km}} in length, {{convert|0.5|km}} in width at its narrowest point, and covers an area of approximately {{Convert|4.26|km2|acre|abbr=on}}. Its runway is {{convert|3000|m}} long. When the airport was built it was on the southern boundary of the city. Ouagadougou has since experienced rapid urbanization and the airport is now surrounded by urban development.<ref name= Donsin>{{cite web | url = http://www.burkinafasoindia.org/documents/Donsin%20FINAL%20English.pdf | title = Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport | publisher = Embassy of Burkina Faso in New Delhi | access-date = 6 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221028/http://www.burkinafasoindia.org/documents/Donsin%20FINAL%20English.pdf | archive-date = 14 July 2014 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Besides having outgrown its capacity constraints, Ouagadougou Airport is a source of pollution and risk. The government has plans for a new airport 30&nbsp;km north of the capital.<ref name= Donsin /><ref name=Egis>{{cite web | url = http://www.egis-group.com/action/realisations/new-ouagadougou-donsin-airport-burkina-faso | title = New Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport, Burkina Faso | publisher = Egis Group | access-date = 6 November 2014 }}</ref>

In addition to civilian traffic, the airport has a military sector.<ref name=washingtonpost>{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-expands-secret-intelligence-operations-in-africa/2012/06/13/gJQAHyvAbV_story.html | title = U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa | last = Whitlock | first = Craig | date = 13 June 2012 | newspaper = The Washington Post | access-date = 6 November 2014 }}</ref>

Ouagadougou Airport handles about 98% of all scheduled commercial air traffic in Burkina Faso. Air Burkina and Air France handle about 60% of scheduled passenger traffic. Between 2005 and 2011, air passenger traffic at Ouagadougou airport grew at an average annual rate of 7.0%, reaching about 404,726 passengers in 2011 and was estimated to reach 850,000 by 2025.

In 2007 it was the 15th busiest airport in West Africa in passenger volume, just ahead of Port Harcourt (Nigeria) and behind Banjul (Gambia).

The total air cargo grew 71% from 4,350 tons in 2005 to about 7,448 tons in 2009.<ref name=Worldbank>{{cite web | url = http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/AFR/2013/03/12/090224b0819d0aad/1_0/Rendered/INDEX/Project0Inform0re0Project000P120960.txt | title = Project Information Document (PID), Burkina Faso Donsin Transport Infrastructure Project | date = 12 March 2013 | access-date = 6 November 2014 }}</ref>

==Airlines and destinations== <!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport and airline itself are not independent sources. --> {{Airport-dest-list | Africa World Airlines | Accra<ref>{{cite web |last1=Liu |first1=Jim |title=Africa World Airlines Schedules Ouagadougou late-July 2025 Launch |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250611-awjul25oua |website=AeroRoutes |access-date=11 June 2025 |language=en-CA |date=11 June 2025}}</ref> <!-- --> | Air Algérie| Algiers <!-- --> | Air Burkina| Accra, Bamako, Bobo-Dioulasso, Cotonou, Dakar–Diass, Lomé, Niamey <!-- --> | Air Cairo| Cairo, Dakar–Diass<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/231018-smdec23ouadss | title=Air Cairo Extends Service to West Africa from Dec 2023 }}</ref> <!-- --> | Air Côte d'Ivoire| Abidjan, Niamey<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Cote d'Ivoire International Service Changes in Oct 2024 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240612-hfoct24 |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=12 June 2024}}</ref> <!-- --> | Air France| Paris–Charles de Gaulle<ref>{{cite web |title=Air France Tentatively Moves Selected Central Africa Service Resumption to 1Q26 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250724-af1q26af |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=25 July 2025}}</ref> <!-- --> | Air Senegal| Dakar–Diass<ref>{{cite web|url=https://flyairsenegal.com/en/horaires/arrivees-et-departs/|title=Destinations|website=flyairsenegal.com}}</ref> <!-- --> | ASKY Airlines| Bamako, Conakry,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/281376/asky-airlines-files-guinea-network-from-december-2018/|title=Asky Airlines files Guinea network from December 2018}}</ref> Lomé,<ref>{{OAGWorldMay2025Ref|title=Lome, Togo LFW|pages=609-609}}</ref> Niamey <!-- --> |Brussels Airlines| Brussels<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/categorie/2/airlines/brussels-airlines-vaker-naar-afrika-en-vs-dankzij-extra-airbus-a330 |title = Brussels Airlines vaker naar Afrika en VS dankzij extra Airbus A330 {{!}} Luchtvaartnieuws| date=14 December 2021 }}</ref> <!-- --> | {{nowrap|Ethiopian Airlines}}| Addis Ababa,<ref>{{OAGWorldMay2025Ref|title=Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ADD|pages=17-19}}</ref> Conakry,<ref name="ET">{{cite web |title=Ethiopian Airlines NS25 International Service Changes – 07APR25 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/250408-etns25int |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=8 April 2025}}</ref> Niamey<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopian Airlines NW24 Africa Service Changes – 01SEP24 |url=https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240903-etnw24af |website=Aeroroutes |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref> <!-- --> | {{nowrap|Kangala Air Express}}| Bobo-Dioulasso, Niamey<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kangala-airexpress.com/vol_program | title=Kangala }}</ref> <!-- --> | Royal Air Maroc| Casablanca<ref>{{Cite journal|author=<!-- not stated -->|journal=OAG Flight Guide Worldwide|title=Casablanca|date=November 2023|volume=25|issue=5|publisher=OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited|publication-place=Luton, United Kingdom|issn=1466-8718|language=en|pages=194–195}}</ref> <!-- --> | Tunisair| Abidjan, Tunis <!-- --> | Turkish Airlines| Conakry,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aviateworld.com/news/airline-news/turkish-airlines-launches-a-new-route-to-conakry/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 October 2017 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109011445/https://www.aviateworld.com/news/airline-news/turkish-airlines-launches-a-new-route-to-conakry/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Freetown,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/275619/turkish-airlines-adds-freetown-service-from-feb-2018/|title=Turkish Airlines adds Freetown service from Feb 2018|access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref> Istanbul<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://onemileatatime.com/istanbul-airport-transition-delay/|title=Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)|date=9 April 2019 }}</ref> }}

==Statistics== {{Airport-Statistics|iata=OUA}}

==Military use== According to a 2012 article in the ''Washington Post'', the United States military was using the military side of the airport as the hub of its airborne intelligence operations for much of Western Africa. Its surveillance operations were carried out mainly with small, unarmed turboprop aircraft disguised as private planes, but full of surveillance equipment. The U.S. spy planes fly hundreds of kilometres north to Mali, Mauritania and the Sahara, where they search for Al-Qaida fighters from the Maghreb. The planes refuel on isolated airstrips favored by African bush pilots, extending their effective flight range by thousands of kilometres. According to the ''Washington Post'', in 2012 Ouagadougou was the most important of the approximately dozen air bases that the U.S. established in Africa since 2007.<ref name=washingtonpost />

==Plans for a new airport== {{main|Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport}} The government plans to close the current airport upon construction of the Ouagadougou-Donsin Airport, approximately {{convert|35|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} northeast of Ouagadougou near the village of Donsin. It was originally expected to be completed around 2018, and the government of Burkina Faso has an $85 million loan from the World Bank to help finance the construction.<ref name=Egis /><ref name=Worldbank /> The government of Burkina Faso believed that the project would cost $618 million.<ref name= Donsin /> Construction started in 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airportsinternational.com/article/ouagadougou-donsin-takes-eco-steps|title=Ouagadougou-Donsin takes eco steps|date=4 January 2023|website=www.airportsinternational.com}}</ref> for completion in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Africa's new £440mn airport with huge 3,500m runway in sprawling capit {{!}} World {{!}} News {{!}} Express.co.uk | url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1996262/africas-new-440mn-airport-burkina-faso-ouagadougou | access-date=29 August 2025 | website=www.express.co.uk}}</ref>

== Accidents and incidents ==

* On 17 September 2013, a standing ATR 72-202 (EC-LNP) of Colombe Air Line leased from Helitt Lineas Aereas was substantially damaged when a heavy thunderstorm passed over the airport, with winds up to 44 knots (50.6&nbsp;mph) being registered at 20:00. The plane was written off.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident ATR 72-202 EC-LNP Ouagadougou Airport (OUA) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20130917-0 |access-date=14 July 2023 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://aim.asecna.aero/html/eAIP/cartes/ad-2/ad2-24/02/02AD2-DFFD-ADC.pdf ASECNA aerodrome chart] {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Ouagadougou}} {{Airports in Burkina Faso}} {{Authority control}}

Category:Airports in Burkina Faso Category:Buildings and structures in Ouagadougou