Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport — Luanda, Angola

Quatro de Fevereiro, the Portuguese name behind the LAD code, commemorates February 4, 1961, the date widely marked as the start of the armed struggle for Angolan independence from Portuguese colonial rule. For decades the airport served as Luanda's sole significant gateway, handling both the country's substantial oil-driven business travel and a national carrier, TAAG Angola Airlines, that connects the capital to destinations across Africa, Europe, and South America. Rapid oil-fueled growth in the 2000s and 2010s brought Luanda a reputation as one of the world's more expensive cities for expatriates, and air travel demand grew accordingly, straining the older airport's capacity. A large new international airport built outside the city has since begun assuming a growing share of long-haul and international traffic, gradually shifting Luanda's aviation center of gravity elsewhere. LAD nonetheless remains deeply tied to the city's identity, having witnessed decades of Angola's transition from colony through civil war to its current economy.