In Cape Verde, domestic traffic reaches its highest level since the beginning of the health crisis
June 2022 was a prolific month for domestic transport in Cape Verde. According to data from the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA), compiled by the Portuguese news agency Lusa on Wednesday 27 July, almost 20,800 passengers travelled within the country during this period.
This is a record since March 2020, the month in which the coronavirus pandemic paralysed air transport around the world.
This figure is only an estimate, as it represents almost half of the 41,653 travellers who embarked and disembarked at the country's four international airports and three airfields last June. It should be noted that each passenger is counted both when embarking and disembarking. However, this is above the 17,142 passengers recorded in May 2022, and the 18,335 recorded in April (the previous record since March 2020).
It is also well above the 8,230 passengers in June 2021. This is evidence of the recovery in air traffic and tourist demand. As for the number of domestic flights, there were 927 in June 2022, compared to 403 year-on-year.
This performance is due to Bestfly Cabo Verde, which is responsible for the network of domestic services. The start-up began operations in the Cape Verdean domestic market in 2021 following Bestly Angola's takeover of the operator Transportes Interilhas de Cabo Verde (TICV), formerly owned by Spain's Binter. The State of Cape Verde holds 30% of the shares. Its current fleet includes two ATR72-600s and an Embraer ERJ190.
