Imminent resumption of commercial operations of Cabo Verde Airlines (CVA)
Cabo Verde Airlines (CVA) has been grounded since March 2020. Despite the reopening of Cape Verde's borders, the company has not been able to take to the air, its bailout still dividing the 2 main shareholders.
A point of agreement was finally found, which materialized in the return to the fleet of one of its aircraft.
On April 14, one of the 3 Boeing 757-200s operated by Cabo Verde Airlines (CVA) landed at Nelson Mandela International Airport in Praia, back from Iceland, where it underwent an overhaul. (msn 24760, D4-CCG) named “Baía de Tarrafal” has been recertified by the Civil Aviation Agency (AAC). "This is an important moment for Cape Verde and the Cape Verdeans, because it marks the resumption of flights of our national company, and certainly reflects the resumption of tourism and the different sectors of the national economy", rejoices the Prime Ministry.
In front of the press that same day, the Minister of Tourism and Transport, Carlos Santos, affirmed that this confirms the will of the government to save the parastatal company. A rescue is imperative for three reasons: the preservation of 300 jobs, the pursuit of the strategy of creating the Sal hub, the concretization of Cape Verde's role as a hub for air transport in the Atlantic Ocean area. The government member, however, did not say when the second plane will return. Regardless, CVA has suspended operations since March 18, 2020, after Cape Verde's borders were closed, as part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to lack of financial resources, the company remains grounded despite the resumption of domestic (July 15) and international (October 12) traffic in the country. Indeed, the State (39% of the capital) and Lofleidir (51%) did not agree on the rescue plan of the company, since the start of the discussions in May 2020. This has not been the case since on February 26, the two shareholders reached an agreement. This provides for the resumption of control of CVA's management by the State (appointment of two out of five directors, including one executive director); the reduction of its debt, its fleet (from 3 to 2 planes) and the validity of the rental contracts of its planes (reduced to one year); the concentration of its network (over the next 12 months) towards countries hosting a large Cape Verdean diaspora, and emitting a large number of tourists visiting Cape Verde.
