Cape Verde’s airports handled 344,501 passenger movements in August 2026, an increase of 5.8% compared with August 2025, according to the latest monthly statistics from the country’s Civil Aviation Agency (AAC).
The August result comprised 91,280 domestic and 253,221 international passenger movements. Domestic traffic increased 7.2% year-on-year, while international passenger traffic was 5.4% higher than in August 2025.
Passenger activity was also 7.5% higher than in July 2026, with domestic traffic increasing 5.3% month-on-month and international traffic rising 8.3%. The AAC figures include passengers embarking, disembarking and in transit.
Scheduled services accounted for 339,107 passenger movements, representing 98.4% of the August total, while non-scheduled flights handled 5,394 passengers.
Passenger arrivals totalled 157,628, compared with 186,873 departures.
Amílcar Cabral International Airport on Sal remained the country’s largest airport by passenger volume during the month, handling 153,880 passengers. Nelson Mandela International Airport in Praia recorded 87,269 passengers, followed by Aristides Pereira International Airport on Boa Vista with 47,697 and Cesária Évora International Airport on São Vicente with 41,473.
São Filipe on Fogo handled 8,496 passengers, São Nicolau recorded 3,569 and Maio handled 2,117.
International traffic accounted for 86.7% of passenger movements at Sal and 87.6% at Boa Vista. At Praia, international passengers represented 64.1% of the total, while São Vicente recorded a more even distribution, with international traffic accounting for 53.0% and domestic traffic 47.0%.
Aircraft activity showed a more moderate year-on-year increase. Cape Verde’s airports recorded 3,365 aircraft movements during August, comprising 1,390 domestic and 1,975 international movements.
Total aircraft movements were 1.6% higher than in August 2025, with a 4.3% increase in international movements offsetting a 2.0% decline in domestic activity.
Compared with July, however, total aircraft movements declined 2.7%. Domestic movements increased 2.1%, while international movements fell 5.8%.
Scheduled operations accounted for 3,142 aircraft movements, or 93.4% of the total, while the remaining 223 movements were non-scheduled.
Sal recorded the highest number of aircraft movements at 1,380, followed by Praia with 943, São Vicente with 432 and Boa Vista with 384. Fogo recorded 136 movements, São Nicolau 56 and Maio 34.
Air cargo moved in the opposite direction to passenger traffic during August. Cape Verde’s airports handled 84,826kg of cargo, down 3.6% compared with August 2025 and 6.9% below the July level.
International cargo, which accounted for 70,499kg of the total, declined 7.5% year-on-year and 8.5% month-on-month. Domestic cargo amounted to 14,327kg and increased 21.4% compared with August 2025 and 1.9% compared with July.
Scheduled flights carried 82,157kg of cargo, or 96.9% of the total. Incoming cargo accounted for 64,201kg, while 20,625kg was dispatched from Cape Verde’s airports.
Praia handled the largest cargo volume during the month at 35,815kg, followed by Sal with 29,878kg and São Vicente with 14,971kg. Boa Vista handled 3,954kg, while volumes at Fogo, São Nicolau and Maio were considerably smaller.
Mail traffic totalled 38,034kg, representing a 10.5% increase from August 2025 despite falling 12.4% compared with July.
Domestic mail amounted to 24,293kg, 14.0% higher year-on-year, while international mail totalled 13,741kg, up 4.8%.
The month-on-month comparison was different, with domestic mail falling 25.8% and international mail increasing 28.6%.
Praia handled 17,417kg of mail, followed by São Vicente with 11,267kg and Sal with 5,941kg. Boa Vista recorded 1,684kg, Fogo 777kg, São Nicolau 674kg and Maio 274kg.
The AAC’s August figures show passenger volumes above both the previous month and August 2025, while aircraft movements were higher year-on-year but below July levels. Cargo declined on both comparisons, while mail remained above its August 2025 level despite a month-on-month reduction.
AAC Boletim Estatístico Mensal No. 08, August 2026 (PDF, Portuguese, 21 pages)
