After over one year of preparations, Angola’s national carrier, TAAG Angola Airlines, has gotten the opportunity to expand its operation to Nigeria.
The airline’s maiden flight was said to have arrived at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos on Monday afternoon.
According to Punch newspaper, the CEO of the airline, RUI Carreira, said the inaugural flight to Nigeria is a dream come true and the airline hopes to expand to other African nations.
He said the expansion is not only to increase the airline’s network “but partly to promote a business relationship between Nigeria and Angola.”
“We hope that our governments will work hard to facilitate the movement of our people,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said the airline will operate from the country’s capital, Luanda, to Lagos, Nigeria, twice weekly using a Boeing 737-700.
The Boeing 737-700 aircraft can accommodate up to 149 passengers in an all-economy configuration.
“We are very excited to be announcing our new service to Lagos – the latest destination added to our network that will further connect African countries and beyond and by which we expect positive results.
“This route will allow easy connections to and from Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Lisbon, and Porto,” he said.
Challenge to Nigeria?
Meanwhile, despite being the giant of Africa, Nigeria has not been able to have any national carrier since the one it had collapsed decades ago.
Barely two months after Nigeria unveiled Nigeria Air at the Farnborough Air Show in England on July 18, 2018, the government suspended the project.
The federal government immediately dismissed all concerns regarding the affordability of the airline operations saying the airline would begin operation before the end of 2018.
The airline is yet to start operation till date.
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