TAP cancels, postpones Lisbon-Luanda flights as restrictions extended
TAP had scheduled several flights in August between Luanda and Lisbon, but some did not take place, such as one supposed to take place on the 14th but which has now been rescheduled for Wednesday.
TAP, Portugal’s national airline, on Tuesday, blamed the cancellation and postponement of flights that were planned for the Luanda-Lisbon route on the extension by the Angolan authorities of restrictions on scheduled flights, saying that it now intended to operate two flights a week.
The airline had scheduled several flights in August between Luanda and Lisbon, but some did not take place, such as one supposed to take place on the 14th but which has now been rescheduled for Wednesday.
“TAP designed and put up for sale [tickets for] the Luanda operation for the month of August before the restriction on scheduled flights was extended,” said the company in a reply sent to Lusa. “After this extension of the restrictions, on August 7, by the Angolan authorities, TAP reformulated the operation, which led to the cancellation and postponement of dates.”
It added that it plans to operate the route in August with two flights each way per week, though without specifying dates.
On Friday, TAP admitted that it had made “an oversight” in information sent to passengers about the cancellation of flights from Angola, after a protest by the National Institute of Civil Aviation (INAVIC), which was mentioned in the messages.
“The company sent a communication informing passengers of the cancellation of Angola flights: instead of sending a message on the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent legal restrictions, it mistakenly referred to INAVIC,” a company official told Lusa.
INAVIC had accused TAP of refusing to board passengers who would have been allowed to enter Angola and of laying on “commercial flights” under the guise of humanitarian flights.
The website of Portugal’s consulate-general in Luanda states that TAP flights from Lisbon are scheduled for 9-45 p.m. on 19 and 21 August and flights by Angolan national airline TAAG on 18, 20, 25 and 27 August, underscoring that the return flights to Portugal are from the respective airlines.
Angola has kept its airspace closed since 20 March to contain the spread of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19, but has authorised cargo and other flights in special situations, subject to health checks and the approval of the authorities.
On 7 August a presidential decree was approved that extends the public disaster situation until 8 September, keeping in place the health cordons in Luanda province and in Cazengo municipality in Kwanza-Norte province. That means that regular international commercial flights to and from Angola are still suspended indefinitely.
The decree allows for special situations, namely the return of Angolan nationals as well as foreigners who are resident, travel by foreign citizens back to their respective countries, humanitarian aid or medical emergencies, or the entry of foreign specialists for specific tasks, among others.
Passengers traveling to Angola must submit to a molecular biology test for the coronavirus, with a negative result, within 72 hours prior to the trip.
Angolan nationals and resident foreigners may sign a form stating they will spend quarantine at home, while non-resident foreigners are required to carry out institutional quarantine.
Passengers traveling from Angola to Portugal, meanwhile, must present proof of a negative test result performed up to 72 hours before boarding. Portuguese nationals and foreigners residing in Portugal who, exceptionally, do not carry out the above test, will be submitted to this test on arrival, at their own expense.
Foreign citizens not resident in Portugal who fail to present proof of a negative test may not board, while passengers in transit are exempt from presenting the test as long as they do not leave the airport’s international area.
