Ivory Coast gets U.S. approval for direct flights

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast has received authorisation from the United States to start direct flights between the two countries, officials said on Saturday, boosting the West African nation’s hopes of becoming a regional transport hub.The world’s top cocoa producer, Ivory Coast is emerging from a decade-long political crisis that ended in a brief civil war in 2011, and is now attracting investors again. The African Development Bank moved its headquarters back to the commercial capital Abidjan last year, after an 11-year hiatus.

Ivory Coast’s economy has seen a renaissance under President Alassane Ouattara’s stewardship, averaging annual growth of around 9 percent. Ouattara, widely expected to be re-elected in a vote due in October, wants to push ahead with plans to make Abidjan a hub for air travel in Africa.

A senior official at Ivory Coast’s National Civil Aviation Authority said the U.S. Transportation Security Administration had given the green light for direct flights.

“That will reinforce our aim of being a hub for the region and help to attract more U.S. investors, who did not want to make long journeys to reach Ivory Coast,” the official said.

Ivory Coast has been seeking authorisation from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration for 15 years, officials said.

Comment:

Even after going through a civil war, they come back organize themselves, and get authorized before Kenya. It took them 15yrs though.
Hope KQ get theirs soon. But they need to really improve their customer service. Ethiopian is beating us in the Airline biz hands down. We need to stop assuming all West Africans are drug dealers. Give them better customer service, and let the authorities handle any dubious individuals themselves.
We have many Countries with crappy airport s whose Airlines fly to US, plus we already fly to many big European cities, so dont know why they’ve given KQ a hard time all these years.