The government of Guinea announced the creation of the Guinea-Bissau airline.

Guinean Minister of Transport Aristides Okante da Silva announced this Wednesday the creation of Guinea-Bissau Airlines, which will be operated jointly with the Canadian-based company.

Jitaa-Aeronautics will deliver the aircraft that Guinea-Bissau will use to connect Guinea’s capital, Bissau, with the islands of the Bijagos archipelago and the country’s southern and eastern regions, Okante da Silva said.

During the same period, which the official did not specify, Guinea-Bissau will connect Bissau with the capitals of Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

In the future, which Okante da Silva also did not specify, the new company will fly to Lisbon (Portugal), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Rome (Italy).

The Guinea-Bissau airline, which will carry passengers and cargo, will also carry Muslim pilgrims to the holy cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, the minister said.

The company will also ensure the transportation of fish and agricultural products from Guinea-Bissau to the international market, Aristides Okante da Silva said.

A technical delegation from Guinea was due to travel to Lisbon to inspect the first aircraft of the Guinea-Bissau airline, which the minister said was only delayed to allow the signing of an agreement establishing the company.

In the near future, Aristides Okante da Silva noted, 50 crew members, ground and service personnel will be trained.

The Minister of Transport believes that in addition to jobs, the Guinea-Bissau airline will increase airfare prices.

Gaussou Sauane, vice president of Jitaa-Aeronautics Africa, hopes Guinea-Bissau will be up and running “as soon as possible.”

Guinea-Bissau has already tested, but without much success, some flag carriers, namely Linhas Aéreas da Guiné-Bissau (LAGB), Transportes Aéreos da Guiné-Bissau (TAGB), later called Air Bissau, which operated until 1998.