"Firstly, we want to find a solution that is tripartite: Cape Verde, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe. For issues that have to do with the sustainability of connections," said Cape Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva. , questioned at a joint press conference, in Praia, with his Sao Tome counterpart, Jorge Bom Jesus, who is visiting until Wednesday.
Ulisses Correia e Silva recalled that "in times" there was an air connection between Luanda, São Tomé and Praia, which was discontinued "for issues that also have to do with commercial sustainability".
"We have been discussing for some time with a view to finding solutions that make connections, connectivity, but at the same time profitable flights", underlined the head of the Cape Verdean Government.
He explained that "one of the solutions" on the table is the implementation of "transit flights", from São Tomé to Luanda and then from Luanda to Praia, "buying a direct destination".
"Those who are in São Tomé buy a destination directly to Praia, but they go through Luanda too, in the end to have enough seats sold to justify the flights", he explained.
The air carrier TAAG performed direct flights from Luanda to the island of Sal, suspended since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, with no known intention or deadline for resumption.
"Despite the beauties of our islands, we continue, in some way, to be prison islands if we do not have the capacity for air and maritime transport", lamented the São Tomé and Príncipe counterpart, in the same joint statement to the press, after meeting with Ulisses Correia e Silva, at the Government Palace, where new bilateral cooperation agreements were signed.
For Jorge Bom Jesus, countries are not always able to launch these initiatives "on their own", hence the "openness" for "group work": "Angola can also enter this process"
President João Lourenço defended precisely 15 days ago, in Praia, the creation of a 'joint-venture' between the flag carriers of Angola and Cape Verde, TAAG and TACV, to take advantage of the capabilities of each country.
"To make the best possible use of the capabilities that Angola has, in terms of air resources, of planes, and the capabilities that Cape Verde has in terms of airport management, of aircraft management, the capabilities that Cape Verde has in terms of having achieved over the years to be certified to fly to spaces that Angola has not been able to", said the Angolan President, after meeting with the Cape Verdean Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, during his State visit to the archipelago.
"We are going to combine the capabilities of the two countries in this field of civil aviation and I believe that we will all benefit from this", said João Lourenço.
At the Government Palace, the Angolan head of state and the Cape Verdean prime minister watched on March 14 the signing of an agreement between the administrations of the state-owned airlines of the two countries for the provision, by TAAG, of a Boeing 737-700 , on a leasing basis, to Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (TACV), an aircraft that arrived in Praia on the same day and will guarantee the medium-haul connections of the archipelago.
"We thought to go further, to form a 'joint-venture' between TAAG and TACV to, with TAAG aircraft, and based on the city of Praia or the city of Sal - this detail passed me by, which is important is that the base will be Cape Verde -, from here, we will operate to several capitals in the West African region, known as ECOWAS, and also continue not only to Europe, but also to the United States of America", said João Lourenço.
