According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Agency (AAC), which regulates the sector in Cape Verde, the archipelago’s airports and airfields recorded a movement of 2,010 aircraft in departures and arrivals in October this year (an increase of 31% compared to the same month of 2021), on international and domestic flights.
The number of passengers in departures, arrivals and transit throughout last month was 36,651 on domestic flights and 142,355 on international flights (+130.7% compared to 2021), translating into a global movement of 179,006 passengers, against just 87,846 in the same month of 2021, a total increase of almost 104%.
However, this performance is still 14.5% below the October 2019 record, before the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, when 209,432 passengers were handled in Cape Verde in a single month.
The total movement of passengers at airports and airfields in Cape Verde has been growing strongly since the beginning of the year, accompanying the recovery in tourist demand and in August reached 225,998 passengers, a record since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On July 18, the Cape Verdean government signed a public airport service concession contract with the Vinci group, involving the management of four international airports and three aerodromes for 40 years, receiving €80 million in revenue.
The new company that will manage Cape Verde’s airports is 70% owned by Vinci Airports and 30% owned by the Portuguese company ANA (wholly owned by Vinci since 2013).
The total movement of passengers at Cape Verdean airports grew by 7% in 2021, compared to 2020, to more than 830,000, a better result than initially indicated in view of the consequences of the pandemic.
According to previous data from the AAC, the airports and airfields of the archipelago recorded a movement of 14,284 aircraft in departures and arrivals from January to December 2021 (an increase of 8.5% compared to 2020), on international and domestic flights.
The number of passengers in departures, arrivals and transit throughout last year was 287,752 on domestic flights and 542,488 on international flights, translating into a global movement of 830,240 passengers, against 775,998 in the same period of 2020 (+7%).
However, Cape Verdean airports only operated in 2020 until March, with all air connections, domestic (until July) and international (until October), having been suspended to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
These numbers are still far from those verified before the covid-19 pandemic and from January to December 2019 alone, Cape Verde airports totaled 2,771,931 passengers, in 35,002 aircraft movements on domestic and international flights.
In 2019, Cape Verde registered a record 819,000 tourists, a sector that accounts for 25% of the Gross Domestic Product, but is trying to recover after the total stoppage in March 2020, due to the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, also affecting the aeronautical sector and air navigation.
With information from Sapo/Lusa