Guinea-Bissau will start to receive flights from Air Côte d'Ivoire, the flag carrier of Côte d'Ivoire, from the beginning of June, announced this Thursday, May 26, Aliu Soares Cassamá, director general of NAS Bissau, a company that manages and provides handling services at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, in the Guinean capital. Air Côte d'Ivoire will start connecting Bissau and Abidjan, passing through Dakar, Senegal, three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, said Aliu Soares Cassamá. The director general of NAS Bissau considered that the presence of the Ivorian company in Guinea-Bissau is a “leverage for the economy†of the entire African sub-region, highlighting the strength of the Ivory Coast. “It is an asset for the country, because having a direct flight between Bissau and Abidjan is a great advantage, everyone knows that Côte d'Ivoire holds 35% of the economy of our sub-regionâ€, said Soares Cassamá. Bestfly Cape Verde starts flying to Bissau in July this year Next July, according to Aliu Soares Cassamá, the private airline Bestfly Cabo Verde will start flying to Bissau, having already signed the airport assistance contract with NAS Bissau. Soares Cassamá noted that the Cape Verdean operator will also help to facilitate trade between the two countries, namely because businessmen do not have to travel to Dakar when they want to reach Cape Verde. Currently, Guinea-Bissau's only international airport regularly receives flights from the Portuguese companies TAP and EuroAtlantic, the Pan-African Asky, Air Senegal and the Moroccan Royal Air Marroc (RAM). Osvaldo Vieira International Airport IATA certification process is underway NAS (National Aviation Services) is of Arab origin and was created in 2003 in Kuwait. It is present in 56 countries, including 17 African countries, including Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. In Bissau, NAS won the concession at the end of 2020. It is now awaiting an audit by IATA (International Air Transport Association), which is scheduled for next August. “If the airport is certified by IATA, in two evaluation components, it will be able to receive aircraft from any airline and even cargo planesâ€, noted Aliu Soares Cassamá, according to a dispatch from the delegate in Bissau of the Portuguese news agency 'Lusa'. . In this last aspect, Soares Cassamá predicted gains for the economy, giving an example of ease in the flow of fresh fish and cashew nuts, the country's main agricultural and export product. “Fresh fish can be exported on the same day, cashew nuts, which currently take three to four months on ships to reach India, can be exported in a few hoursâ€, defended Cassamá.