Nouakchott International Airport

Nouakchott is the largest and busiest airport in Mauritania, seeing just over one million passengers a year. The national carrier, Mauritanian Airlines, brings the most people from neighboring African regions, but there are a host of other airlines making similar trips, as well. Those coming from the United States have several options, including KLM, which flies from Atlanta, Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, Cincinnati, and Detroit Wayne County; Air France, which make trips from Houston George Bush, Miami, Minneapolis St Paul, and New York JFK; or Turkish Airlines, which flies from Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles International.

The airport has a range of facilities including a banking arena with ATMs, currency exchange and a fully functional bank, a post office, and many restaurants and cafés. The airport is located about three miles east of the capital. There are no shuttle services to make the 20-minute journey, but there are many private taxis waiting outside the Arrivals terminal for reasonable rates.

Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport (Senegal)

For travelers who would prefer to fly into another destination, Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport in Senegal is the nearest alternative to Nouakchott’s airport. Travelers from the United States can make the journey on South African Airways, which flies from Port Columbus, Seattle, Austin-Bergstrom and Charlotte Douglas, or with Delta, which flies from Burlington, Bangor, Charlottesville, and Baltimore.

The airport is located just outside the capital city of Dakar and sees 1.5 million passengers per year. From here, travelers can make the 25-minute journey into the city by shuttle or metered taxi. The bus station in downtown is a departure point for bush taxis to Nouakchott, Mauritania.