Nonstop flights and new routes: the expansion of João Pessoa's air network

Paraíba's government is negotiating nonstop flights between João Pessoa and Europe, with TAP and Cabo Verde Airlines in its sights.

In addition to the growth of domestic routes recorded at Presidente Castro Pinto Airport, Paraíba has been investing directly in arranging international flights to the capital. In March 2025, during the Lisbon Tourism Exchange (BTL), Embratur president Marcelo Freixo proposed to the Portuguese airline TAP the creation of a nonstop flight between João Pessoa and Lisbon, in a meeting that also included Governor João Azevêdo.

On the same trip to Portugal, the governor met with representatives of Cabo Verde Airlines to discuss a route linking Lisbon to João Pessoa with a stopover in the city of Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde, which would open an additional connection between Brazil's Northeast, Africa and Europe. The delegation, named Missão Paraíba (Paraíba Mission), included Mayor Cícero Lucena and aimed to attract both airlines and investors in the Portuguese hotel sector.

So far, these talks remain at the negotiation stage, with no confirmed date for the start of commercial operations. The City of João Pessoa described the meetings as an important step toward making it possible, in the medium term, for international flights from Europe and Africa to arrive directly in the Paraíba capital, which today depends on connections via Recife, Fortaleza or major Southeast hubs.

While the intercontinental nonstop flights have yet to materialize, the growth in foreign visitors to Paraíba — a topic covered in the article on international tourism — continues to be driven mainly by connecting flights, which reinforces the commercial importance of an eventual nonstop route to the European market.