Luanda - Two thousand and 214 passengers of Angolan Airlines (TAAG) embarked and disembarked at António Agostinho Neto International Airport (AIAAN), on the Luanda/Cabinda route and vice versa, during the first three days of the start of flights, which began on the 10th of this month.
The chairman of TAAG's Executive Committee, Nelson Oliveira, announced that, on the first day, 850 passengers were transported, 810 and 554 on the second and third days, respectively, with the Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
At a press conference held on Wednesday at the AIAAN, the source considered the start of operations 'a success', as there were no flight cancellations, despite having admitted slight delays, within the standards allowed internationally.
In his turn, the director-general of the AIAAN Temporary Operator, António Pombal, confirmed that some people who traveled to Cabinda stayed overnight at the airport, due to lack of coordination of the various entities of the interconnected system, a situation that has already been corrected.
The coordinator of the Operational Office of the New Luanda International Airport, Paulo Nóbrega, detailed that, from the 10th to the 12th of this month, 31 people stayed overnight, six on the first day, 15 on the second and 10 on the third.
'There was a flight that was delayed due to lack of coordination of the various entities of the 'ecosystem', but the situation was corrected,' he clarified.
The official assured that the Office continues with the process of adapting workers to the infrastructure, to achieve the highest standards of the aeronautical industry.
On the other hand, the Luanda Urban Collective Transport company (TCUL), within its operational plan for access to the new airport, put into circulation 23 of the 35 new semi-express buses, with 27 seats each, with another 21 in reserve.
According to the chairman of the Board of Directors of TCUL, Nelson Jorge, in the first three days, three thousand and 89 people were transported, including passengers, employees of the new airport ecosystem and visitors.
He said that people who are unable to pay for the trip on the semi-express bus, whose prices vary between 500 and 1,000 kwanzas, can use the normal buses of Kz 150.
As for rail movement, on the Luanda Railway (CFL), which started the circulation of the express train from Bungo Station to AIAAN on the 7th of this month, there were 80 trips that allowed to transport close to 500 passengers, in 12 trips/day.
By the way, the manager of the CFL, Manuel Kandakanda, said that the company continues to mobilize families, churches and other social actors to combat the frequent stoning that the trains have suffered, despite the safety along the entire railroad length.
After Cabinda, where there are currently four return flights/day, TAAG plans, for December, the incorporation of the routes of the Eastern region (Dundo, Saurimo and Luena) and Soyo, planning, progressively, to complete the transfer of other domestic and international calls, in the first quarter of 2025.
Opened on November 10, 2023, António Agostinho Neto International Airport is located in the municipality of Icolo and Bengo and had been operating, until then, cargo flights.
The airport infrastructure occupies an area of 75 square kilometers and has two parallel runways, the northern runway being 4,200 meters long and the southern runway 3,800 meters long, both 60 meters wide.
The airport infrastructure has complementary services such as shops, restaurants, offices, among others. ACC/QCB/DOJ
