Aviation History
Cape Verde's national carrier traces to an airline founded in 1958 that became the country's designated flag carrier at independence from Portugal in 1975 and was formalized as state-owned TACV in 1983. After decades of financial strain, the Cape Verdean government partnered with Icelandair's Loftleidir Icelandic in 2017–2019, which took a 51% majority stake, and the airline was rebranded Cabo Verde Airlines in 2018, using Sal Island's Amílcar Cabral International Airport as its hub.
The airline that would become TACV / Cabo Verde Airlines was established under Portuguese colonial administration.
Following Cape Verde's independence from Portugal, the airline was designated the new nation's flag carrier.
The carrier was reorganized as Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (TACV), a state-owned company.
TACV began European service to Lisbon and transatlantic flights to Boston using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10.
TACV took delivery of its first Boeing 757-200, named 'B.Leza', upgrading its long-haul fleet.
The carrier adopted the Cabo Verde Airlines name and livery to strengthen its national identity, alongside new majority ownership by Icelandair's Loftleidir.
Icelandair Group's Loftleidir Icelandic completed acquisition of a 51% stake in the airline in March 2019.
Cabo Verde Airlines added its first Boeing 737 MAX 8 for international routes in July 2023.
Cabo Verde Airlines (formerly TACV) · Bestfly Cabo Verde
Wikipedia, Cabo Verde Airlines corporate site, AFRAA
Aviation Firsts
Amílcar Cabral Uluslararası Havalimanı (Sal Adası) — Sal (1939): 1939'da İtalyan girişimiyle Avrupa-Güney Amerika arası transatlantik yakıt ikmali/durak noktası olarak inşa edildi. İlk uçuş: Roma ve Sevilla'dan geliş, 15 Aralık 1939. II. Dünya Savaşı sonrası Portekiz sömürge yönetimi havalimanını satın aldı, 1949'da tam işler hale geldi. Daha sonra Alitalia DC-4 durağı (1950), Portekiz Hava Kuvvetleri transit sahası (1963-1975), Güney Afrika Havayolları yakıt durağı (1967'den itibaren, apartheid-dönemi iniş hakkı reddleri nedeniyle). İki bağımsız kaynakla (İngilizce Wikipedia ve Portekizce Infopedia ansiklopedisi) doğrulanmış. · Wikipedia ↗
TACV (Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde) → Cabo Verde Airlines (1958): 1958'de kuruldu. 1975 bağımsızlığında ulusal taşıyıcı oldu, 1983'te devletleştirildi, 1985'te Lizbon ve Boston seferleri başladı. 2017'de yönetimi İzlanda merkezli Loftleidir'e (Icelandair Group) devredildi, hub Sal'e taşındı, 2018'de Cabo Verde Airlines adını aldı; Loftleidir 2019'da %51 çoğunluk hissesi aldı. 1998'de kurulan Cabo Verde Express'in 'TACV'nin tekelini sona erdirdiği' açıkça belirtiliyor — yani TACV'den önce rakip yoktu. · Wikipedia ↗
No documented foreign entrant found. Re-checked. Confirmed the April 2026 deal: Swissport (via Swissport Holding Spain) agreed to acquire a 51% stake in CV Handling (the incumbent state-linked handler at 7 Cabo Verde airports) from ASA, described in coverage as Swissport's "entry into the ground handling sector" there. No new information was found to confirm this as the first foreign entrant, and no earlier foreign ground handler was found — consistent with the prior wave's decision not to elevate it to a claim, since it reads as an equity acquisition of an existing domestic operator rather than confirmed documentation of a new foreign company entering to operate.