Commercial flights to the United States may now be carried out directly from Praia International Airport, and TACV Cabo Verde Airlines expects to begin offering direct flights from the Cape Verdean capital to Boston on March 15, according to the company’s administrator, João Pereira.

Authorization to carry out direct flights between Praia and the United States was granted following a joint safety audit of Praia International Airport carried out by Cape Verde’s Civil Aviation Agency and US Transportation Safety Agency.

The results of the audit were satisfactory, and Praia International Airport is now listed as a Last Point of Departure (LPD) by the Agency, allowing it to be used in connections to the United States by companies holding ETOPS certificates.

According to the president of Cape Verde’s Civil Aviation Agency, it is now up to TACV to prepare its schedule for the carrying out of direct flights to Boston from Praia, which has been proven to offer “the conditions for the security procedures” required by US authorities.

TACV had been waiting for the authorization to come through in order to begin direct links between Praia and Boston immediately. According to TACV administrator João Pereira, preparations are near complete, and flights from Cape Verde to Boston “will depart from Praia by next week.”

João Pereira guaranteed that the use of Praia International Airport as the point of departure for flights to the United States will represent advantages for both the company and passengers, as operational costs “will diminish,” which could influence the price of tickets.