According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Agency (AAC), which regulates the sector in Cape Verde, the four international airports and the three aerodromes in the archipelago registered a total movement of 225,108 passengers in December, an increase compared to the 213,565 in November and taking into account the 152,097 of the same month of the previous year.
According to the same data, most passengers were booked on international flights (176,920).
Also in December, the airports and airfields of the archipelago recorded a movement of 2,509 aircraft, on national and international flights, an increase of 38.8% compared to the same month of 2021.
The total movement of passengers at airports and airfields in Cape Verde has been growing strongly in the last 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.
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.
On December 9, during the debate on “Transport and connectivity between the islands of Cape Verde”, in the National Assembly, the Minister of Tourism and Transport, Carlos Santos, revealed that Cape Verde received around 650,000 tourists until November, approaching the record of 819,000 in 2019, before the pandemic.
“The recovery of tourism in the last 11 months, with 650,000 tourists entering the country, has brought more demand to the [transport] sector, making the implemented model viable and living up to what the model predicts. State subsidizes in the beginning for later the sector to gain autonomy, namely in the maritime”, said the minister.
“The registration of passenger transport in 2022 already portends a sustained recovery, which should continue in 2023”, pointed out Carlos Santos.
With information from Sapo