Business comes on wings to the 400 000 Cape Verdeans. Any South African who flew to Europe when blacklisted South African Airways was still battling the African bulge will have visited there. Most South Africans heading for the United States still do.
But very few of them see the beauty of the 15 volcanic islands off the Western tip of Africa. They don’t venture beyond the transit lounge of the airport at Praia as their jumbos refuel.
The government of President Pedro Pires knows very well that one day the planes will stop coming just to refuel.
Technology will soon enable them to make the long haul between South Africa and North America without stopping.
South Africa put the wind up Cape Verde last year when it started using Senegal on the mainland for refueling before heading off across the North Atlantic.
But the numbers of South African aircraft have increased with the new Johannesburg-Miami flight. ”We have 17 a week now,” said Prime Minister JosÃ