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Cape Verde inter island FlightsFlying into the Cape VerdesThe Cape Verde islands with direct flights from Europe are Sal, Santiago and from Boa Vista. Direct flights from the US are Boston Logan to Praia only. Halcyonair now provides competiton for the state carrier at budget prices. Daily excursion flights to other islandsBoa VistaThere are direct flights from Gatwick and Lisbon. There are daily flights from Sal at different times of day.Tourists must spend a night in Sal. They are heavily overbooked for weeks ahead and the ATR72s cannot fly when the Harmattan blows or at night. Flights are often cancelled. Halcyonair flies three times a week for £75 return. Sao NicolauSao Nicolau.is only 40 miles away, but not easy to reach. Flights are on alternate days from Sal. If the weather is bad or a plane is unserviceable, flights are cancelled, sometimes for several days. The runway has fierce crosswind, which makes it particularly difficult in windy conditions and vulnerable to airport closure. Santiago and Sao VicenteThere are thrice daily flights to Praia on Santiago, and twice daily to Mindelo on Sao Vicente, from Sal. There are also flights to Praia on Santiago from Lisbon four days per week. Most Cape Verde tourist flights still arrive at Sal. A runway extension at Sao Pedro airport in Sao Vicente will eventually permit international flights from Europe or the US to land there.R&M from Sussex were woken at dawn by the Rep. "Returned last night from the holiday you organised for us. All went very well and we thank you for your efforts. We loved the two islands which we visited but doubt whether we will buy a property there, we will probably rent a villa for future visits. As you warned us, inter island flights do not always go as planned. Ours didn't. The first sheduled for 8.00 am left at 12.30 and the next one sheduled for mid-day was cancelled and we were woken up at 6.30am to be told that we had to be at the airport in half an hour. Not to worry - it was all an experience! "I from Sweden was well looked after by Cape Verde Jetaway reps "I am glad I picked Sao Vicente, even I was not quite sure what it is like in comparence to the other islands. First of all, well organized! I did not expect everything running so well after your remarks in relation to flight delays etc. Flights were slightly delayed, but within the normal range. "MaioMaio airport has re-openedFlights are twice a week from Praia. No timetables available, and days vary,FogoThere is a daily flight from Praia, early in the morning. Tourists must spend a night in Santiago outbound. It is a sensible precaution to have one night there also on the return trip. There are also day excursion flights to Fogo from Sal. Fogo airport has closedSanta Antao and BravaBoth island have airports with short landing strips, built in the 1990s. Both are now closed and access is by ferry/ cargo ship only.IncidentsTACV has had two incidents. On October 24 2005 at Dakar, Senegal an ATR42 Charlie Bravo Hotel sufferred a starboard main undercarriage collapse on the take-off run. Damage was put at $1.7m but there were no serious casualties. On 7 August 1999, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft which usually flew TACV Flight 5002 (Sao Vicente - Santo Antão) was unserviceable, so a Coast Guard, Dornier 228 was substituted. It took off from Sao Vicente at 11:42 for a flight of 13 minutes. Poor visibility (rain and fog) at Santo Antao put the airport below VFR minima and the pilot turned back to Sao Vicente at 11:56. The aircraft flew south across Santo Antao and crashed into a wooded mountainside at 1370m. All 16 passengers and two crew were killed. The airport at Santa Antao was later closed. K from Scotland took Cape verde Express instead "We treated ourselves to a trip to Fogo which was quite expensive but turned out to be good value for money - we went over on a private chartered prop- jet with 12 others - very exclusive! It was a really interesting day and great food and the tour guides were great - and spoke English very well - we ended up going out for a beer at the end of the day with one of them!"D from Essex was a very late booker and travelled from Lisbon with the support of local staff to all 3 main islands. For once it all worked like clockwork. "Just a quick note to thank you so much for arranging our trip to Cape Verde, was very worried when first passed over our money on the Friday evening not really knowing who to or what we were paying for but everything ran so smoothly even all the flights were on time and hotels were all fine. Thanks again Claire for all your help and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone in the future"R from Amsterdam missed a flight as he had no guide or Rep "Just spent 2 weeks in the Cape Verdes. Of six internal flights, only ONE was anywhere near on time - ranged from 5 hours early (we missed it!) to 3 hours late. Schedules! Trouble is, there is not much choice. The international one from Amsterdam Schipol is also not very good - business class was hardly more than a slightly bigger seat than economy. Wouldn't recommend." |