I went to a two-week trip to Angola, São Tome and Principe, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire and Bissau Guinea. The plan was to take the following flights:
Keflavík to Lisbon, Icelandair
Lisbon to Luanda, TAAG
Luanda to São Tomé, TAAG
São Tomé to Principe, STP Airways
Principe to São Tomé, STP Airways
São Tome to Libreville, ASKY
Libreville to Cotonou to Abidjan, Air Côte d’Ivoire
Abidjan to Lomé, ASKY
Lomé to Dakar to Bissau, ASKY
Bissau to Lisbon, TAP
This is the check-in area at Abidjan Airport.
It took quite some time to queue for check-in. In the meantime I could have a look up:
I was asked for my visa to Bissau. I told "visa on arrival" which they believed only after calling a supervisor.
Passport and security were quick. A person we were travelling with had a bad experience here on 17th December 2025, a few days before my trip. She was asked by a customs official how much cash she had on her l. She answered, then she was taken to a room with a custom officer who told her, in a threatening way, to pay a fine of 200€ because she had too much cash, otherwise she could not leave. She paid but she didn't receive a receipt.
The Duty Free after security.
The terminal is not modern and is quite a shame for such a big city as Abidjan. It looks pretty much like a mid-range shopping mall.
There's a café but there was almost nothing there.
There's a lounge but I was in economy.
The plane for today's flight, a B737-800, registration number ET-AYU, built in 2009.
Qatar Airways' plane in Abidjan.
The tower.
Boarding was by bus. The plane looks nice from the outside.
There's a business class cabin in a 2+2 configuration.
The economy had the standard 3+3 configuration.
Both cabins looked pretty worn.
Air conditioning was barely working in the cabin.
Seats on the right side are called LKJ.
I asked for an aisle seat but got a middle seat. The flight was full. The seat wasn't comfortable.
An expected flight time of 1 hour was announced.
Push-back was as at 09.18 for a scheduled departure time of 09.10. We took off after a long and slow taxi at an airport with almost no other flights 09.45.
A Sandwich "fish or chicken" was offered. It was same as I had on my flight to Abidjan. I didn't eat it.
Water, soft drinks, fruit juices were offered, even red wine but no coffee or tea.
We landed to Lomé at 10.42 and were at the gate at 10.47 for a scheduled arrival time of 10.45. See my next flight report from Lomé to Bissau for my experience about the connecting flight.
The plane after landing.
