According to the first quarter 2023 report on passenger movement at the archipelago's four international airports, from state company ANA, the number of passengers handled by all companies grew 46 percent, compared to the same period of 2022, to 528,348, but remains 3 percent below the record of the first quarter of 2019 (543,151).

Of that total, Portugal's TAP grew in the movement of passengers carried to and from Cabo Verde's four international airports to 106,205 in the first three months of the year, in all cases already above the movement in the same period of 2019.

At Nelson Mandela International Airport in Praia, TAP handled 42,037 passengers, an increase of 3 percent compared to the same period of 2022 and 5 percent considering the numbers of 2019, leading among the companies operating in the Cape Verdean capital.

The Portuguese airline also led at Cesária Évora International Airport, São Vicente island, with 22,342 passengers, an increase of 57 percent within a year and 15 percent more compared to the first quarter of 2019.

At Amílcar Cabral International Airport, on the island of Sal, the most popular tourist island in Cabo Verde, TAP handled 34,116 passengers, second only to charter flight tour operator TUI Airways, but increasing 81 percent in the space of a year and adding 49 percent of passengers taking into account the same period of 2019.

At Aristides Pereira International Airport, Boa Vista island, whose flights TAP only resumed in the second quarter of last year, the Portuguese company handled 7,710 passengers, still up 47 percent on the performance of the first quarter of 2019.

TAP carried almost 385,000 passengers to and from Cabo Verde in 2022, up 65 percent on the previous year, according to previous data from ANA.