Savate Airport

Military Abandonment. The airport was a strategic military airstrip that fell into disuse and was abandoned following the end of the Angolan Civil War in 2002. With the cessation of hostilities, its military purpose ceased, and there were no economic or civilian justifications to maintain it in such a remote and underdeveloped region.

Abandoned and unmaintained. Satellite imagery shows a clearly visible but deteriorated dirt/gravel runway in the savanna. The surface is overgrown with vegetation, and there is no remaining infrastructure such as buildings, terminals, or air traffic control facilities. The area remains extremely remote and is known to be heavily contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance from the civil war, making the site and its surroundings hazardous. It is not used for any official aviation purposes.

Savate Airport was a critical military airbase during the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002). Located in the Cuando Cubango province, a major theatre of the war, it primarily served as a forward operating and logistical base for UNITA forces and their allies, the South African Defence Force (SADF). Its operations were crucial for supplying troops, transporting ammunition and equipment, conducting medical evacuations (casevacs), and supporting military campaigns against the MPLA government's FAPLA forces and their Cuban allies. Control of Savate and its airstrip was a key objective in several major battles, including during the mid-1980s FAPLA offensives aimed at capturing UNITA strongholds like Mavinga and Jamba.

None. There are no known or reported plans by the Angolan government or any private entities to rehabilitate or reopen Savate Airport. The focus of national infrastructure development is on larger, economically viable airports in provincial capitals. Given its remote location, lack of economic drivers, dilapidated state, and the significant danger posed by landmines in the region, the prospects for reopening are virtually non-existent.