Hence, this source said that there would be a daily flight along with a nocturnal service leaving Luanda for Lisbon on Fridays before returning on Sunday in a move designed “to tailor service provision to the market and meeting the needs on the days of the greatest demand,” said the TAP representative.

This is the second major change to European flight connections with the Angolan capital with Iberia having announced last month that it would be ending with flights between Madrid and Luanda on the grounds of a drop in passenger numbers.

This also follows issues with airline companies struggling to repatriate earnings from Angola that is experiencing an extended economic spasm impacting on both the exchange rate and currency reserves due to the plunge in the price of oil.

According to the state holding Parpública accounts for 2015, TAP closed 2015 with the sum of €27.7 million in its account in Angola but was unable to transfer the money out of the country.

Lusa reported on June 3 that Angola was now the fifth worst country for retaining the earnings of airline companies and hanging onto €210 million to attain this ranking that means it comes in behind Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria and Venezuela respectively.