According to Novo Jornal, in Cabinda there have been long lines at the airport and at the TAAG agency, in the hope that there are available seats. However, according to the same newspaper, the complications are likely to continue in the coming months, since the flag carrier only has tickets available from the second half of November.
In the hunt for a ticket is Marcelino David, one of the passengers who is looking for a seat to Luanda. Speaking to Novo Jornal, the passenger said he wanted to go to the capital at the end of next month for his sister's wedding, but he says there are no tickets available anymore.
"I've been fighting for two months for a seat on the flight and nothing. There are no tickets to Luanda for the month of October, and who gets them is with a 'wedge', we, who have no one at TAAG, can't get them", he said.
Also, passengers Madalena Afonso and Henriques João said that getting to travel between Cabinda and Luanda has been a headache: "Even with a ticket in hand we run the risk of not traveling. Sometimes the flights are full and there is no place for those who already have a reservation, something that we don't understand".
The problems surrounding the flights are not new to the population, considered a customs official in Cabinda, who did not want to be identified.
In turn, Carlos Vicente, spokesman for TAAG, admitted that the company is aware of the existence of complications regarding travel in the northernmost province of the country, but assured that the chaotic panorama was caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
"We do recognize the difficulties, but we have to take into account the atypical moment that the country is experiencing due to the covid-19 pandemic. We hope that everything improves and the sanitary fence is lifted in the province of Luanda so that, perhaps, we can redo our daily flight plan," he said, in statements to Novo Jornal.
He added that Cabinda currently has two flights per day, and there are weeks in which the frequency increases to three flights. However, the TAAG spokesman acknowledged that the number of trips is still not enough.
About the tickets, he said it is necessary to change the "travel culture". "We have to change our travel culture. People want to travel overnight and logically they can't find a seat. In fact, if the flights are filled for the next few months, the person will just have to wait."
