Despite São Tomé & Príncipe being “blacklisted” as a destination by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) as it does not comply with EU safety standards and regulations, two certified airlines registered in Portugal serve the destination: TAP, the Portuguese national carrier and STP Airways operated by the Portuguese company EuroAtlantic.

For INAC (Instituto Nacional de Aviação Civi) the mid to long term strategy in coordination with ENASA (Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea) is to work towards lifting the restrictions from ICAO, but so far it has been a challenge that the government has not managed to overcome yet.

In order to mitigate this restriction, the following strategy is being developed by a group of stakeholders in São Tome & Portugal:

• Identify a potential operator and fly under his AOC (Air Operator Certificate).
• Sourcing of 1 or 2 Beechcraft 1900 (19 seater) to operate between the islands on a daily basis.
• Air Traffic authorization and legalisation of route to fly to Libreville to connect with the Air France flight twice per week directly to Príncipe.
• Back up plane with a "Beechcraft King Air B200" based in São Tomé for VIP trips and Medivac.
• Commercial strategy definition and presentation to the central government in order to mitigate the “Blacklist” issue.