Transport & Airports
The secret is out - the Cape Verde Islands are recognised as the next big thing. Already making serious waves on the tourism and overseas investment scene, the time for Cape Verde is now.
And it is little wonder, for this enchanting archipelago, lying on the same latitude as Barbados, is home to Europe's closest tropical islands. Yet it's just a five-and-a-half hour direct flight from London and with only a one hour time difference visiting Cape Verde is refreshingly jet-lag free, unlike the Caribbean. With the opening of a new international airport on Santiago, the largest island and site of the capital, getting to Cape Verde will be easier than ever.
Cape Verde has scheduled international air access from Europe (Amsterdam, Bergamo, Lisbon, Milan, Munich, Paris, Porto and Rome), the Canary Islands (Las Palmas), Brasil (Fortaleza), Angola (Luanda), Guinea Bissau (Bissau), Senegal (Dakar), Sao Tome and the USA (Boston). There is an "open skies" policy with Portugal, the USA and ECOWAS countries. Bilateral agreements are in place with Algeria, Angola, Brasil, Cuba, Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Zambia. There are domestic air services to the main inhabited islands. Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal was Cape Verde's only international airport until October 2005, when Praia International Airport opened to international flights.
Cape Verde is heavily regarded as the up and coming Caribbean for Europe, when looking at the flight times from major European destinations it is easy to see why.
London Gatwick - 5.30 hrs
Lisobon, Protugal - 3.50 hrs
Madrid, Spain - 4.50hrs
The closest comparison to the Cape Verde Islands can be seen as Barbados, with a standard flight time of 10.15hrs from London Gatwick.
Passengers (arrivals, departures and transits) handled at Cape Verde's airports are summarized as follows:
| Airport | Passengers 000s | |||||
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Sal | 444 | 493 | 636 | 709 | 1008 | 877 |
| Praia | 199 | 222 | 243 | 265 | 253 | 270 |
| Sao V | 98 | 105 | 123 | 133 | 126 | 125 |
| Fogo | 32 | 34 | 56 | 45 | 38 | 40 |
| Boa V | 18 | 25 | 40 | 47 | 39 | 38 |
| Sao N | 21 | 23 | 27 | 25 | 20 | 19 |
| Maio | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 11 | 11 |
| S. Ant | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | Closed | - |
| Bravo | 1 | Closed | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 829 | 918 | 1139 | 1243 | 1495 | 1380 |
This marked increase in flight arrivals is predicted to accelerate with the introduction of further direct flights from European destinations and the provision of greater levels of suitable accommodation.
Analysis of the number of passengers on international (scheduled, charter and transit) and domestic flights in 2004 is given in the following table. It can be seen that 52% of passengers were on domestic flights between the islands. Of passengers on international flights, the vast majority (67%) were arrivals and departures on scheduled flights, 31% were transit passengers and 2% were on charter flights.
| Flight Characteristics | Passengers in 2004 | |
| 000s | % of Total | |
| International scheduled | 484 | 32.5 |
| International transit | 220 | 14.7 |
| International Chartred | 16 | 1.1 |
| Total International | 720 | 48.2 |
| Domestic | 775 | 51.8 |
| Total | 1495 | 100 |
The vast majority of international services are operated by TACV, the state owned airline. The second major scheduled airline is TAP, which operates a daily scheduled service from Lisbon. TACV also has the monopoly on domestic scheduled air services, which it operates with 19 to 46 seat turboprop aircraft. Other major airlines serving Cape Verde include Air Senegal, Air Angola, Cabo Verde Express (local charter airline), Condor (Germany), Czech Airlines (Czech Republic), Euro Atlantic (Portugal), Hapagfly (Germany), Hamburg International (Germany), Livingston (formerly Lauda Air Italy) and Neos (Italy).
Cape Verde is undertaking an ongoing airport investment programme. Major components of this investment programme are summarised as follows:
Amilcar Cabral International Airport, Sal
As stated, until September 2005, this was Cape Verde's only international airport and it remains the major airport for international flights. The new air traffic control centre opened in 2004 and there is further investment in satellite navigation systems. There is a three phased programme for the ongoing upgrading of the airport with completion of each phase by the end of 2006, 2013 and 2023 respectively.
Praia International Airport, Santiago
The first phase of the upgrading of the airport was completed in September 2005, several years behind schedule. A second phase of development is scheduled. The objective is to develop Praia and Sal as dual hub airports. The growth forecast for the new airport envisaged over 474,000 passengers after five years (compared with 270,000 passengers in 2005). The only scheduled airline currently serving Praia is TACV.
Boa Vista International Airport
The first phase of expansion and upgrading of the airport is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006. Following completion of the first phase, the airport is intended to serve international charter flights from Europe. Initially the airport will only be equipped to handle day flights, with equipment to handle night flights included in the second phase (2012), with a "fuel farm" installation and other facilities included in a subsequent phase. Total passengers (arrivals and departures) handled at the airport are forecast to grow to at least 129,000 by 2010 (38,000 in 2005). However, future growth will be dependent on the capacity of accommodation developed.
Sao Vicente International Airport
The expansion and upgrading of the airport is also scheduled for completion by the end of 2006. The airport will be equipped to handle day and night flights. The airport is also intended to serve international charter flights from Europe.
As stated, Cape Verde is investing in upgrading and expanding its airport capacity to enable increased air services to follow. The success of developing additional capacity on existing routes and attracting new routes will, to a large extent, be demand led as new tourist accommodation capacity is realised. This is the reported experience following the opening of the 500 room Riu Club Hotel Funana on Sal in autumn of 2005. The greatest increase is reported to have been in arrivals on charter flights and further increases are planned. For example Livingston and Hapagfly are each adding an additional weekly flight from Germany, and Astraeus is starting charter flights in November 2006 from London Gatwick and Manchester. TACV is also reported to be considering new routes. Some international scheduled airlines have expressed interest in services to Praia, but nothing has been decided. Future forecasts of air traffic to 2009 are summarised in the following table. It can be seen that by far the largest percentage growth is -expected to come from passengers on international charter flights, with the largest growth in passengers carried on scheduled international flights.
| Flight Characteristics | Passengers | % Increase | |
| 2004 | 2009 | ||
| International Scheduled | 484 | 582 | 20 |
| International Transit | 220 | 235 | 7 |
| International Charter | 16 | 45 | 181 |
| Total International | 720 | 862 | 20 |
| Domestic | 775 | 821 | 6 |
| Total | 1495 | 1683 | 13 |