Members of the Cape Verdean tourism sector and CVC Corp, Brazil’s largest travel agency, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) this Monday (18) aimed at increasing the connectivity between Brazil and Cape Verde. The agreement was signed in Sal Island and the news was initially published by state-owned news agency Inforpress.
Present in the signing, according to the agency, were CVC Corp’s Executive Director of Products and Pricing, Fábio Mader, as well as Cabo Verde Airlines’ chairwoman, Sara Pires, and the president of Cape Verde’s Tourism Institute, Humberto Lélis. The country’s minister of Tourism and Transport, Carlos Santos, was also present in the ceremony.
Brazil and Cape Verde have not been connected by nonstop flights since early 2020, when flights were halted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of today, the most common itinerary between the two countries involves a connection in Lisbon with TAP Air Portugal, which transforms a trip of less than four hours and under 3,000km in a 16-hour odyssey.
“This is a huge challenge that we embrace with big commitment, and we have here an important partner of Cabo Verde Airlines, which is CVC, that in the past has helped inserting us in the Brazilian market and to transport Brazilians to Cabo Verde”, stated Pires, according to Inforpress.
The airline’s chairwoman added that the airline awaits the ETOPS certification for its aircraft to undertake the transatlantic flights, and that the airline could start operations to Brazil in “at most” three or four months.
In Brazilian airports with publicly available information, for the Northern Summer 2024 season — Winter in the Southern hemisphere — Cabo Verde Airlines already has slots allocated in Recife. Flights would connect the city to the airline’s main base in Sal.
The operation would start on April 6, 2024, with a weekly frequency on Saturdays with a Boeing 737-700. On June 24, a frequency on Mondays for which the 737 MAX 8 is allocated would be added (a slot allocation does not mean the airline will operate the flight, although it is generally a necessary condition).
Before the pandemic, after being privatized, Cabo Verde Airlines connected Sal to Fortaleza, Natal, Porto Alegre and Recife, attempting to develop Sal as a hub between the Africa, the Americas and Europe. Some of these flights operated only for months until international travel came to a halt.
In 2021 the airline was renationalized, and according to Planespotters.net its fleet is currently comprised of one Boeing 737-700 and one 737 MAX 8.
