– Air transport
The rehabilitation work on several airport facilities is part of Cameroon's Integrated Multimodal Transport Strategy. Each region will thus have operational airport infrastructure.
Cameroon is therefore embarking on a decisive phase of modernizing its airport infrastructure, with a view to meeting the diverse needs of transporting people and goods. Cameroon has four international airports: Douala, Yaoundé-Nsimalen, Garoua and Maroua and around ten secondary airports including Bamenda, Bafoussam, Bertoua, Ngaoundéré, Yaoundé Villé and Koutaba.
In 2023, the rehabilitation and modernization of the airports of Tiko, Bertoua and Kribi will be a priority for all regions of Cameroon to be served by air transport.
Douala International Airport is the largest airport in Cameroon. It serves Cameroon's economic capital thanks to its constantly modernizing infrastructure and one of the largest airport areas in Africa (6.20 km² with a total perimeter of approximately 19 km). Its domestic and international traffic is constantly growing and, thanks to its capacity to handle 1.5 million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo per year, it enjoys a head start on this increase in air traffic.
To attract more airlines, Yaoundé-Nsimalen Airport obtained, in 2022, a Class A certificate issued by the Cameroon Civil Aeronautics Authority (CCAA), under the supervision of International Civil Aviation (ICAO).
Severely affected by the pandemic, between 2019 and 2020, international air traffic fell from 868,788 passengers to 357,564 passengers. Domestic traffic also saw a decline in the number of passengers, falling from 329,781 to 104,295 passengers over the same period. This resulted in a contraction of 62,04% in international traffic and 70,83% in domestic traffic. Over the period, overall traffic fell by more than 66%. For the year 2020, 51% of the traffic was international, 23% transit, 15% domestic and 14% sub-regional.
In 2023, the plan is to continue the actions initiated to intensify the modernization of airport infrastructure: the certification of Douala International Airport to make it a hub, rehabilitation work on its terminal and that of the runway at Garoua Airport will be undertaken.
The Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA) is the authority responsible for air transport and civil aviation activities in Cameroon. Aéroports du Cameroun, a public limited company incorporated under Cameroonian law and under the administrative supervision of the Ministry of Transport, is responsible for the management, operation, renewal, rehabilitation, and development of infrastructure at seven airports in the country: Yaoundé-Nsimalen, Douala, Garoua, Maroua-Salak, Ngaoundéré, Bamenda, and Bertoua.