TAAG Angola Airline has revealed that South Africa is a key market within its cargo strategy and operational footprint after transporting over 1.6 million kilograms of miscellaneous goods or cargo from Johannesburg to different parts of the world.
According to the airline, this makes South Africa a key strategic market for the airline’s growing cargo business development and it predicts that there will be an increase in the volume of cargo and demand for its services.
The airline’s cargo director Sajid Khan, deputy director Caetano Quibuba, and division manager José Mpasi are to attend the Air Cargo Africa International Trade Fair in Johannesburg, from February 21 to 23.
“South Africa is a key market within our cargo strategy and operational footprint. In 2022 we transported more than 1.6million 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,” said Khan.
Khan said South Africa is also the departure and arrival focal point for cargo pick-up and drop-off from across the continent, while TAAG is a key distributor connecting intra-African markets and intercontinental cargo hubs.
TAAG is currently the only operator in the Southern hemisphere to connect Africa with South America, and the airline is taking active steps to re-launch routes to and from China.
“Re-establishing the routes with China will allow TAAG to offer long-haul links from Asia (China) to Africa (particularly South Africa) and South America (Brazil), with Angola (Luanda) as a stopover,” the airline said.
The airline also said that its cargo operations are expected to grow exponentially once Angola’s new state-of-the-art international airport goes live in 2024.
“Cargo segment is nowadays strategic for TAAG, with a rising contribution to the company’s sustainability. Thus, I see positive synergies and benefits for the business regarding the New Luanda International Airport – Dr António Agostinho Neto – going live in the next years,” said Eduardo Fairen, CEO of TAAG.