In a statement, Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (TACV), which operates under the commercial name Cabo Verde Airlines, renationalized in July last year due to the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, explains that on July 7, "by indication" of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), suspended all flights operated with the Boeing 737-700 registration D4-CCI, leased to TAAG since last March.
"It should be remembered that the certification of the device (...) was completed with the AAC [Civil Aviation Agency of Cape Verde] on May 8, 2022 and its certification process with foreign entities began on May 13. All passengers on canceled flights were properly protected and forwarded to their destinations", reads the TACV statement.
"As of the 21st of July [Cape Verde Airlines] will resume its operations with the D4-CCI aircraft. Thus, since the certification process for the D4-CCI aircraft has already been completed with EASA [acronym in EASA], operations to and from Lisbon can be carried out with the aforementioned device", he adds.
Lusa reported this Tuesday that Cabo Verde Airlines has rejoined the group of companies licensed to operate connections to Europe, according to the list updated by AESA.
About two weeks ago, Cabo Verde Airlines was excluded from the AESA list of Third Country Operator (TCO) authorizations, as the organization itself confirmed to Lusa.
Following the non-renewal of this authorization, previously issued in 2016, the company was not performing commercial flights from 7 to 9 July, citing "operational reasons". The situation was only overcome after the 10th of July, using a chartered aircraft.
In the list of TCO licenses updated this Tuesday by AESA and consulted by Lusa, TACV was once again an authorized operator, with AOC number CV-01/COA and TCO code CPV-0001.
"A Third Country Operator authorization issued by EASA is a prerequisite to carry out commercial air transport operations to the European Union. Cabo Verde Airlines does not currently have this authorization and will only be able to resume its regular flights to Portugal as soon as the have", the official source of that European organization, based in Cologne, Germany, had clarified to Lusa on 12 July.
Lusa previously contacted TACV's management, asking about the situation of the company's TCO license, which sent any clarification to later, which happened this Tuesday.
At stake is the need for Cabo Verde Airlines to have a TCO license issued by AESA, at a time when since the resumption of commercial activity, in December 2021, after the covid-19 pandemic – it had not been flying since March 2020 –, the company only flies (from Praia, Sal and São Vicente) to Lisbon, Portugal, therefore requiring that license.
Since March, TACV has operated a Boeing 737-700 from Angola's TAAG, registration D4-CCI, ceded under 'wet leasing', a contractual regime in which an airline provides the plane, the crew, guarantees the maintenance and supports the plane's insurance , receiving payment for the hours operated by the operating company, in this case TACV. However, it is foreseen that the aircraft will be operated only by TACV crew and not by TAAG as until now.
"An operator who does not hold a TCO authorization is authorized to carry out 'wet lease' services of a European Union carrier or a foreign carrier that holds a TCO authorization, contracting this airline to perform services on its behalf", previously explained the same EASA source.
The Angolan TAAG also integrates the updated list of 39 pages with companies from all over the world outside the European Union with TCO license from AESA, according to documentation consulted by Lusa.
