TAP to fly to Mali as of June

TAP Portugal will start regular operations to Bamako, the capital city of Mali, as of next June 5th, 2011, with three weekly frequencies. Flights will be operated with the A320 aircraft, departing Lisbon at 22h00 every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arriving Bamako at 01h10 (next day), while departures from Bamako will be on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with flights taking off at 02h00 and landing in Lisbon at 07h05.

Bamako is one of the three new destinations announced within the African Continent for 2011. Thus, TAP goes on strengthening more and more its prominent positioning in Africa as the outcome of a growth strategy persistently driven in recent years, while adding to further reinforce the competitiveness of its hub in Lisbon as well as to feed its European network.

In 2010 alone, the Portuguese company increased operations to Africa in 12 per cent, having carried 602,000 passengers. Some improvement is again expected in 2011, with prospects pointing to a target of 13 per cent growth in that region of the globe.
Mali is a destination fitted to match travellers’ different and varied motivations and itineraries. Once a prosperous and influential region due to the commercial routes going across the Sahara, the country today has an economy with a steady growth which is mainly supported by agriculture and gold (it is the 3rd largest African gold producer next after the Republic of South Africa and Ghana).

Mali is a francophone country whose features appeal to the development of tourism, notably to the Sahara or to the legendary city of Timbuktu and has a large potential to attract European traffic, mainly from France.

Bamako, Mali’s capital today is a vibrant African city filled with life, outdoor markets and varied live music, with quite an offer of quality hotels and restaurants.

The new African routes soon to be inaugurated by TAP this Summer will add up to 13 destinations served in Africa with 65 weekly frequencies in the whole.

Source: TAP Air Portugal