Africa-Press – Cape verde. The airline, which was already announced by the government and is intended to provide inter-island flights, was officially established this Friday. Under the name Linhas Aéreas de Cabo Verde, the company is wholly owned by the State and is established with exclusively public capital.
The objective of the company, which will be dedicated to domestic air transport of passengers and cargo, is to “guarantee the stability of inter-island air transport, with regularity, punctuality, continuity and quality”, states Decree-Law No. 46/2024, of 6 September, which established it.
The company, the diploma adds, takes the form of a “public limited company with exclusively public capital, with the State as the sole shareholder.
The Government justifies the decision to create Linhas Aéreas de Cabo Verde as a consequence of the current situation in the sector, which it attributes to a number of reasons. Firstly, the “operating instability of the only airline that had been providing services in the domestic market” and also the high operating costs, which make “the sector unattractive to private enterprise”. These costs were aggravated by the “fragility observed in the spare parts supply chain and its consequent increase in prices”, it reads. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that the national market is “for now” small, which constitutes a constraint and a risk to the sustainability of domestic operations, without the support of the Government.
Although the market remains open to private operators, the new company aims to contribute to territorial cohesion and ensure the State’s duties to guarantee the internal mobility of citizens, the “normal exercise of economic activity”, in addition to ensuring that essential services, such as health services, “reach, in a timely manner, the entire national territory”.
In addition, it is expected that tourists visiting the country will also have access to all the islands, promoting the “diversification of the tourist offer” and encouraging tourism on all the islands.
The Decree-Law mentions that a preliminary study was carried out — required for the creation of a state-owned company — which concluded that the new airline operator for domestic flights was “viable and interesting”.
Statutes
The statutes of the operator were published as an annex to the diploma. These establish that, in addition to operating domestic air transport, the company may also acquire aircraft, equipment and services necessary for its operation. The list includes, among other activities, the purchase and sale of “facilities”, aircraft components, “airport management and operation, technical assistance (…) engineering and consultancy services (…) training and intermediation of services in the aviation sector”.
The company may also associate with “other legal entities”.
Capital
The initial share capital of Linhas Aéreas de Cabo Verde, SA is 750 thousand contos, fully subscribed by the State, and is represented by 750 shares of one thousand escudos each. The payment of 60% of the share capital will be deferred for a period of five years.
Any person, “individual or legal entity, national or foreign, domiciled or not in national territory”, may acquire shares, it also reads.
Special rates for Brava, Maio and São Nicolau
In the same Official Gazette of this Friday, September 6, a Decree-Law was published that changes the rates for domestic air transport of passengers.
As the diploma recalls, since 2013, the legislation has recognised “specific circumstances”, providing for special rates, such as social rates and special conditions for islands whose transport requires more support from the State to guarantee the sustainability of the routes.
It is in this context that the main change introduced arises, positively benefiting the islands of Brava, Maio and São Nicolau, within the scope of territorial cohesion. Thus, air travel to the islands of Maio and São Nicolau will have a 40% discount on the price of the ticket.
For Brava, since there are no flights, “the aim is to grant the same discount to air passengers who initially originate by sea from Brava or have Brava as their destination by sea”.
The difference between the value of the fares and the final cost will be covered by the State Budget, “which thus assumes the costs of the country’s insularity.”
Among the other changes, the permission for operators to more efficiently market seats still vacant in the last 48 hours before the flight stands out.
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