TAAG Angola Airlines is preparing to expand its international network into Asia, with China and India identified as destinations of interest as the airline positions Luanda as a strategic hub connecting Africa with global markets.
CEO Nelson Rodrigues de Oliveira in an interview with African Skies by AFRAA, said the carrier was also pursuing new destinations in Francophone and Lusophone Africa while strengthening existing regional connections.
TAAG Angola Airlines is advancing plans to expand its network beyond Africa, with China and India among the destinations being considered for future regular flights.
According to the airline’s CEO, Nelson Rodrigues de Oliveira, TAAG is “very close” to announcing regular flights to Asia, while new connections to Europe and the Americas remain under continuous study.
The airline currently operates routes to Lisbon in Portugal, São Paulo in Brazil and Havana in Cuba, while its regional network includes Nairobi, Kenya.
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Rodrigues said TAAG’s growth strategy was focused on both increasing frequencies on existing core routes and assessing new destinations that could strengthen the airline’s network and the Luanda hub.
“We have advanced plans for new destinations in Francophone and Lusophone Africa, thus increasing our network footprint in West and Central Africa,” he said.
The airline is also positioning the new Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport in Luanda as the foundation for its hub strategy.
Rodrigues described the airport as a potential continental hub capable of connecting North and South as well as East and West, with implications extending beyond aviation into tourism, trade, agriculture and industry.
The airport has capacity for 15 million passengers annually and up to 130,000 tonnes of cargo per year, according to TAAG. Its combination of air, rail and road connectivity, alongside cargo storage and conservation facilities, is designed to support the development of an aerotropolis around Luanda.
TAAG said its route decisions are based on economic viability, strategic value and socioeconomic impact, including the ability of a route to feed traffic into its wider network and support trade and tourism through Angola.
