Seychelles Angola Air Services Talks Open With No Flights Agreed
SEYCHELLES · TRAVEL
Key Facts
—What happened: Seychelles and Angola discussed a bilateral air services agreement at talks on 31 August 2026.
—Who met: Angola’s ambassador-designate Domingos de Almeida Da Silva Coelho met Principal Secretary Ian Madeleine of Seychelles.
—The catch: Nothing has been signed, and no airline, route, frequency or start date has been named.
—What has changed: The two countries signed a mutual visa exemption for official passport holders in Antananarivo in July 2025.
—The wider push: Seychelles approved ratification of air services agreements with 33 countries on 12 August 2026.
—What comes next: President Herminie points to a United Nations aviation conference in Montreal in November 2026 as the venue.
Seychelles Angola air services talks have opened, with both governments weighing a bilateral agreement. The proposal was discussed on Monday 31 August 2026 during a visit by Angola’s ambassador-designate.
What a Seychelles Angola air services agreement would and would not do
A bilateral air services agreement is plumbing rather than a flight. It sets out which airlines may fly between two countries, on what routes and with what capacity.
Without one, a scheduled service between Victoria and Luanda has no legal framework. Victoria is the capital of Seychelles and Luanda is the capital of Angola.
With an agreement, an airline still has to decide the route is worth flying. Nothing has been announced beyond the discussions themselves.
No airline, route, frequency or start date is on the record. That is the single most important thing to hold on to.
Who was actually in the room
The proposal was discussed on Monday 31 August 2026 during a visit to Seychelles. Principal Secretary Ian Madeleine led the Seychellois side.
Angola was represented by Domingos de Almeida Da Silva Coelho. He was still ambassador-designate on the day of the meeting.
He was accredited the next day, on 1 September 2026. He is a non-resident ambassador based in Dar es Salaam.
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s largest city. A non-resident ambassador covers Seychelles from another country rather than living there.
That detail shapes how often the two sides meet face to face. It also explains why the talks move in short bursts.
What the record shows about 2021
One account says the two countries tried this before. Ecofin Agency reports that they explored an air services agreement in 2021 without concluding one.
That claim rests on a single source. The record made at the time of the June 2021 talks mentions no aviation deal.
It refers only to a General Cooperation Agreement and a Bilateral Commission. Neither of those covers flights.
So the 2021 attempt should be read as one agency’s account. It is not an established fact, and the odds this time do not follow from it.
What has clearly changed is the wider relationship. The two countries signed a mutual visa exemption agreement in Antananarivo in July 2025.
Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar. The exemption covers holders of diplomatic, official and service passports rather than ordinary travellers.
Seychelles is signing everything it can
The renewed approach sits inside a much broader Seychellois effort. On 12 August 2026 the Cabinet approved the ratification of air services agreements signed with 33 countries.
Ratification would “formally bring the agreements into force and enable their registration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)”. That wording is from the Cabinet statement of 12 August 2026.
ICAO is the United Nations agency that sets global aviation rules. Registration with it makes such agreements internationally visible.
Thirty-three at once is a policy, not a coincidence. A small island economy that depends on visitors arriving by air wants as many legal routes as possible.
Why the archipelago needs African markets
Seychelles has long drawn most of its visitors from Europe. That leaves it exposed to one set of economic cycles and one seasonal pattern.
Diversifying source markets is the standard remedy. Africa is the least developed part of that mix and the closest geographically.
Better links with continental markets would spread arrivals across more origins. For Angola the calculation runs differently.
Better connectivity with Seychelles supports tourism and business travel. It also strengthens trade ties and opens another route into the Indian Ocean.
The context of an African aviation push
Angola has been expanding its own network rather than waiting to be connected. TAAG Angola Airlines is opening a route from Angola to Senegal and Cape Verde in October 2026.
TAAG is Angola’s state-owned flag carrier. The economics of African aviation remain difficult all the same.
The cost of flying over the continent is also being reset. The Rio Times reported that Djibouti is repricing its airspace charges for the first time since 2002.
Those two facts frame the opportunity and the obstacle. Demand for flights within Africa is rising, and the cost of serving it is rising too.
What to watch
The first marker is whether a text is actually signed rather than discussed. The second is whether either government names a carrier willing to fly the route.
President Herminie has already flagged the next venue. He points to the November 2026 ICAO conference in Montreal as the place to advance the agreement.
For travellers and expatriates, nothing changes yet. A framework agreement is a precondition for a flight, not an announcement of one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Seychelles and Angola discussing?
They are considering a bilateral air services agreement to improve connectivity and support tourism, trade and investment. The proposal was discussed on 31 August 2026 with Angola’s ambassador-designate Domingos de Almeida Da Silva Coelho.
Have they tried this before?
Ecofin Agency reports that the two countries explored an air services agreement in 2021 without concluding one. The record of the June 2021 talks refers only to a General Cooperation Agreement and a Bilateral Commission.
Is there a flight yet?
No airline, route, frequency or start date has been announced. The discussions concern a framework agreement rather than a scheduled service.
What else has Seychelles signed?
On 12 August 2026 the Cabinet approved ratification of air services agreements signed with 33 countries. Ratification brings them into force and allows registration with the UN aviation body ICAO.
Why does Seychelles want African routes?
Its economy depends heavily on tourism and most visitors currently come from Europe. Better African links would spread arrivals across more source markets.
Connected Coverage
Angola has been building out its own network already, as TAAG opening an Angola to Senegal to Cape Verde route showed, while the cost of flying over the continent is being reset in Djibouti repricing its sky for the first time since 2002. The economy funding Luanda’s outward push is described in Angola’s economy growing 8.74% in the second quarter, and our pillar Africa: The New Scramble follows how the continent connects itself.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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