TAAG Angola Airlines (TAAG), the flag carrier of Angola, has launched a new regional route from its Luanda hub to Pointe-Noire, the second-largest city in the Republic of Congo.
Starting from December 12, 2022, the Angolan carrier will operate two weekly flights between the two West African destinations with its fleet of De Havilland Dash 8-Q400 aircraft, according to a statement released by the airline.
TAAG highlights Pointe-Noire as an attractive destination for travelers due to its oil & gas industry, corporate market, tourism, and leisure opportunities.
With this new route, TAAG now operates to eight intra-Africa destinations as a major operator to multiple Lusophone, Francophone, and Anglophone countries, the flag carrier said in the statement.
The airline’s regional network includes services to Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo), Accra (Ghana), Cape Town, Johannesburg (South Africa) Windhoek (Namibia), Maputo (Mozambique), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), Sao Tome (São Tomé and Príncipe) and Lagos (Nigeria).
Outside Africa, it flies to Lisbon (Portugal), and Madrid (Spain) as well as São Paulo (Brazil) and Havana (Cuba).
Policy implementation helps Africa expand its regional connectivity
TAAG’s route expansion comes at a time where African airlines are expanding their regional networks following the African Civil Aviation Commission’s (AFCAC) launch of the Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) in November 2022.
PIP is an initiative that seeks to speed up the implementation of the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM). The African Union flagship project was launched in January 2018 with the aim to liberalize air services in Africa, improve connectivity and boost intra-Africa trade and tourism.
18 African countries are currently participating in the pilot project: Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Cameroun, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Zambia.
This includes South Africa’s flag carrier, South African Airways (SAA) which launched services to Windhoek (Namibia) earlier in December 2022, alongside plans to introduce new regional services to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) starting from December 14, 2022.
Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ), also launched a new service between Accra (Ghana) and Dakar (Senegal) on December 11, 2022, becoming the only airline to operate a connection between Ghana and Senegal.