I was just listening to some very fine music from 1960’s Angola, and thought that for today’s article, I would post an Angola-related photo. And what could be more appropriate for AirlineCity than an image of the national carrier? Here’s a shot I took of a TAAG 747 at Lisbon (LIS) in February 2006.
Unfortunately, you won’t see one there today, as one month after this photo was shot, the EU Aviation Safety Committee banned TAAG from EU countries citing safey concerns. On the EU’s latest update of its blacklist, dated November 28, 2007, TAAG remains on the list, as well as all the carriers from Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and other airlines. The full list can be found here.
TAAG, though, remains busy in Angola, serving serving most of the provincial capitals from its base in Luanda. The airline also serves other numerous cities outside of Angola including Addis Ababa and Johannesburg, and three times weekly to Rio de Janeiro. The airline is profitable and recently purchased five new aircraft to allow for system expansion. And Angola is experiencing a newly opened aviation market with new carriers, such as Air Gemini and Air 26, providing much-needed competition to TAAG, which is 100% government-owned.
After years of war, it’s great to see Angola’s economy finally booming. And as for non-stop Lisbon-Luanda service, for now TAP Air Portugal remains the sole carrier on this route until TAAG redeems itself to the eyes of the EU regulators.
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