[3] The Government of Mauritania approved the plan on 13 October 2011,[4] and local company Najah for Major Works (NMW) started construction the following month.[2] Oumtounsy Airport opened on 23 June 2016, in time for the 27th Arab League summit in late July.[2] It replaces Nouakchott International Airport, which is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) to the south in the city centre.A Mauritania Airlines International flight from Zouérat arrived at 12:00, becoming the first to land at the airport.[5][6] President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz arrived in the afternoon to inaugurate the airport amid the landing of the first international flight, that of Turkish Airlines from Istanbul–Atatürk.