Cape Verde has 3 international airports that have operated since 2007 (Sal, Praia and São Vicente) and 4 aerodromes.81 The international airports have been recently renovated including buildings, facilities, and runways. A fourth airport (Sao Pedro Airport in Sao Vicente Island) is being remodeled to also become an international airport. The remaining three (Fogo, Maio, and Sao Nicolau) cater only to domestic flights. Sal and Praia are the only 24-hour operational airports that also satisfy Category I of the US Federal Air Administration and the International Civil Aeronautics Organization (ICAO). This safety certification for both air traffic control and airport operations requires costly investments in facilities and training.
Airports are managed by a state-owned enterprise, Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea (ASA). The company has corporative governance and has followed standard business procedures since 2001. Activities include the support of civil aviation, air traffic management, services of departure, arrival and over-flight of aircraft, management of terminals and freight couriers, and the Flight Information Region that represents the main source of revenues for the company.
Traffic is concentrated in international airports. The Airport of Sal, which handles almost half of the passengers, has served as regional hub. South African Airlines was one of the first airlines offering scheduled services from Sal to various destinations. The cancellation of the flight from Johannesburg to North America via Sal to route instead via Accra and Dakar resulted in a significant loss of intra-transit passengers for Sal (-114,413 passengers, or a decline of 12 percent). However, owing to the booming tourism industry, new scheduled and charter airlines have been entering the market.82
