In addition to being the western terminus of the North African route, Dakar was the northern terminus for the South African route, which transported personnel to Pretoria, South Africa, with numerous stopovers at Robertsfield (now Roberts International Airport), Liberia, the Belgian Congo and Northern Rhodesia.

[4] Before the introduction of long-range jets in the mid-1970s, it was an important stopover point for the routes between Europe and South America, along with the Canary Islands.

[citation needed] From 21 January 1976 to 31 March 1982, Air France Concordes used the airport as a refueling stop between Paris and Rio de Janeiro on Wednesdays and Sundays.

[9][10][11] Construction of a replacement airport, Blaise Diagne International, 45 kilometres (28 mi) inland from Léopold Sédar Senghor, began in 2007.

Saudi Binladin Group constructed the new airport, named after the first black African elected to France's parliament in 1914, Blaise Diagne.

[citation needed] The head office of Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile du Sénégal is also on the airport property.

[citation needed] The airport can handle wide body jets, including in the past the Airbus A340-600 from South African Airways, and the Boeing 777-200 from Air France.