On Thursday, February 29th, Fly Angola made the first air connection with the Island of São Tomé and, subsequently, extended on Friday, March 1st, the connection with Príncipe Island, which will now receive flights from Angolan company, a milestone that according to local authorities will contribute to the growth of the economy and bring the two peoples even closer together
The president of the government of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe, in São Tomé, Filipe Nascimento invited Angolan businesspeople to invest in the Island, particularly in the tourism sector, which is the engine of the local economy.
In an interview with the newspaper OPAÍS, on the sidelines of the inaugural flight of the Angolan company Fly, Filipe Nascimento said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been a great asset for the Island and extends the invitation to Angolan businesspeople for this purpose.
As conditions for those who want to invest, Filipe Nascimento speaks of favorable legislation to promote the sector that protects investments and entrepreneurs. “The Angolans are close by and speak the same language as us. Therefore, we have good prospects to offer Angolan businesspeople, as well as tourists who come here”, explained the person in charge.
The 34-year-old young man, who has been guiding the island’s destinations for three years, said that “tourism is the engine of our economy and through it we boost other sectors, such as agriculture and livestock, fishing and services”, adding that the tourism sector is growing Earnings with Fly Filipe Nascimento said he has no doubt that the Angolan company Fly will increase the number of tourists on the Island and, in this way, increase employment and boost the local economy, particularly at the level of hotel units and similar, as well such as agriculture and fisheries.
At the moment, this island, which together with São Tomé forms the largest provinces, has five hotels, 20 guest houses, but it is expected that at least two more hotels and guest houses will be opened this year. For the person responsible for Príncipe, with the arrival of Fly on the scene, the Island’s residents have thus minimized the difficulties in traveling to São Tomé and Angola, highlighting competition and lower prices as other gains. Until now, in São Tomé and Príncipe Island, only TAAG traveled from Angola. With Fly, people from São Tomé now have an expanded offer and diversified prices.
“We are hoping that prices will reduce and somewhat follow the purchasing power of the population of Príncipe”, he said. He stressed that the presence of Fly Angola in his country fills the lack of flights that occurred on several days of the week, facilitating the normal movement of people and goods. “There are many inhabitants of Príncipe who have family members living in Angola. With the Fly connection, they have the opportunity to visit their family at any time”, considered the president of the government of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe. The general director of Fly Angola, Belarnício Muangala informed that the Angolan company’s connections with Príncipe Island will take place on Thursdays and Saturdays.
On Thursday, February 29th, Fly Angola made the first air connection with São Tomé Island and, subsequently, extended on Friday, March 1st, the connection with Príncipe Island, which will now receive flights from Angolan company. Belarnício Muangala says that competition is healthy for the economy, but highlights that his company looks more towards the path of complementarity, because, in the end, he emphasizes, the country is the one who wins. It is Fly Angola’s first international route that has three aircraft for this purpose, and according to Belarnício Muangala, he hopes that the opening of this route will contribute to connecting the two countries. Still in the first half of this year, Fly plans to open the second international route to Namibia, a process that the manager guarantees is already underway.
200 Angolans live in Príncipe
The president of the government of the Autonomous Region of Príncipe said that his territory controls approximately 200 Angolans who “are very well integrated”, as well as Mozambicans and those of other nationalities. These approximately 200 Angolans, according to the person in charge, work in all areas of activity on the Island, just like local citizens.
Filipe Nascimento said that the current Angolan ambassador in his country has been working to bring rapprochement, at the consular level, and contacts with many Angolans residing on Príncipe Island. In 2024, a Census is planned to be carried out to determine exactly the number of people on the Island, but projections, according to President Filipe Nascimento, point to 10 thousand inhabitants.
