TAAG Angola Airlines has recognised South Africa as the continent’s focal drop-off and pick-up point for cargo, and an essential strategic market for its growing cargo business.
The airline’s cargo director, Sajid Khan, said: “South Africa is a key market within our cargo strategy and operational footprint. In 2022 we transported approximately 1 632 000 kilograms of miscellaneous goods/cargo from Johannesburg to different parts of the world, and the trend is to increase the volume of cargo and demand for our services.”
Khan, deputy director Caetano Quibuba, and division manager Jose Mpasi, are attending the ‘air cargo Africa 2023’ conference which is being held in Johannesburg until February 23. Attendees include 640 delegates, 1 550 visitors and 69 exhibiting organisations.
The TAAG team plans to use the conference and industry exhibition to network with African cargo industries, improve networking corridors with the continent, and advertise TAAG’s cargo network to a global audience.
Its network reaches multiple countries and regions including São Tomé, Nigeria (Lagos), Namibia (Windhoek), Mozambique (Maputo), Angola (Luanda) and South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town) in Africa; Italy (Rome), Portugal (Lisbon), Spain (Madrid) and in Europe; and Brazil (Sao Paulo) and Cuba (Havana) in South America.
The airline is currently relaunching trade routes between China and its current network, transporting goods between Asia, Africa and South America, using Angola as a stopover.
TAAG’s cargo freight operation is expected to grow rapidly when Angola’s new international airport, Dr Antὁnio Agostinho Neto, opens. The airport is scheduled for completion in 2024 and is projected to be capable of handling 50 000 tons of cargo and 15 million passengers per year.
"The cargo segment is nowadays strategic for TAAG, with a rising contribution to the company’s sustainability,” said TAAG CEO, Eduardo Fairen Soria.
