Mr Edwin Lawson, TAP’s District Sales Manager, told the Ghana News Agency that over the years, the airline had a campaign to promote destination to Sao Tome and Principe Island. He said the success of this campaign had been the driving force in courting passengers from Accra-Ghana to these destinations and it was this that had caught the attention of the award committee for the recognition.

The number of Ghanaians visiting São Tomé and Principe, a twin Island in the Atlantic Ocean that lies on the equator, has increased by about 20 percent since 2015, necessitating the increase in flight frequency between the two countries to meet demand.

Airline data available indicate that the total passenger uplift in 2016 from Accra to São Tomé and Principe was 2,294, representing a 29 percent increase over the 2015 figure of 1,620. He said the destinations were initially patronized by Europeans as a holiday destination for seminars and tourism.

“Before we started operating this route in October 2015, it was mainly Europeans who visited São Tomé and Principe for leisure, but now the trend has changed,” he added.  Mr Lawson said as a means to keep and serve their customers effectively, the Airline has introduced measures and services for their customers.

He said with the various initiatives being executed, “it is my expectation that this upward trend will continue.”   “Based on the current trend and word of mouth about how ideal Sao Tome is as a tourism destination, we expect more people to visit the Island,” he added.  The District Sales Manager, in the pursuit of its customer focused policy; TAP continuously invests to deliver safe, reliable and upgraded products and services, tailored to meet customers’ expectations.

TAP currently operates about 2,500 weekly flights on average on a modern fleet of 61 Airbus aircraft and 17 aircraft operating in TAP Express livery. TAP regional branded product, adding up to a 78 aircraft fleet with the two additional A330, thus increasing its fleet to 80 aircraft in the whole.