M’Banza Kongo Airport (SSY): Master Planning, Airspace Design and Safety Assessments for a Greenfield Airport

Overview

Airport Gurus provided master planning, safeguarding, safety, and airspace design services in support of the development of a new greenfield airport in M’Banza Kongo, Angola. The assignment focused on establishing the aeronautical, operational, and safety foundations required to guide early infrastructure development and support future certification.

Services included development of the Airport Master Plan and Airport Security Plan, safeguarding and safety assessments, and conceptual airspace and flight procedure design. Together, these activities established a coherent technical baseline to support informed decision‑making during the early stages of airport development and reduce regulatory and implementation risk.

Project Details

The M’Banza Kongo Airport project involved the development of a new greenfield airport with no existing operational or aeronautical baseline. Early‑stage planning required close integration of master planning, safeguarding, safety, and airspace considerations to ensure that the proposed airport layout would support safe, compliant, and certifiable operations.

Airport Gurus supported the project by developing the Airport Master Plan and Airport Security Plan using a twenty‑year planning horizon. The master planning effort incorporated phased development strategies aligned with projected traffic growth while ensuring compliance with applicable regulatory and operational requirements from the outset.

Safeguarding assessments were performed to evaluate compliance with obstacle limitation and protection surfaces and to identify constraints that could affect airport layout, airspace design, or future operations. In parallel, a HAZID‑based safety analysis was conducted to identify potential operational risks and establish preliminary safety criteria, ensuring alignment between infrastructure planning and operational feasibility.

Airport Gurus also developed conceptual airspace structures and flight procedure concepts, including terminal airspace and control zone definitions, SID and STAR concepts, and instrument flight procedure proposals. These concepts were developed in coordination with the airport layout and were supported by noise footprint assessments to evaluate the operational impact of proposed procedures.

The assignment established a robust aeronautical and safety framework for a complex greenfield development, reduced uncertainty during early project stages, and provided the technical foundation required to support detailed design, certification planning, and future operational readiness.

Project Start

2022

Client

Quantum

Scope of Service

• Airport master planning
• Airport security planning
• Safeguarding studies
• Safety analysis
• Airspace concept design
• Flight procedures concept design
• Noise footprint assessment

Region

Africa