Flights to or from larger U.S. airports typically occur several times per day. Even if the airport is small, you’ll usually still see flights, even from ultra-low-cost carriers, happen at least a couple of times per week.
And then there are the truly oddball flights.
One of America’s most unexpected international routes
Case in point, a couple of weeks ago, a direct flight was established between the United States and Cabo Verde, which is an island nation off the coast of Africa. What’s more, the flight goes back and forth from, of all places, Providence, Rhode Island.
Flight route image created with AI assistance
The flight will operate year-round using a Boeing 737 MAX 8 with 174 economy seats and is being offered by Cabo Verde’s national airline, TACV Cabo Verde Airlines.
PVD is NOT a giant international airport. In fact, it’s categorized as a small-hub commercial airport. It has two concourses: the North Concourse has 14 gates, and the South Concourse has 8. PVD handled about 3.5 million passengers in 2024.
Cabo Verde, located roughly 350 miles off the coast of Senegal, is small, with a population of roughly 500,000 (about the population of Miami, Colorado Springs or Raleigh). Until the flight to/from Rhode Island began, every other direct international route out of Cabo Verde went to Europe or West Africa, plus one flight to Brazil.
Why Providence?
The basic reasoning for the route is that New England is home to roughly 100,000 Cabo Verdeans.
But how so many people from a tiny island nation wound up in a small area of the United States is the most interesting part.
You can thank the whaling industry, which began in the 1790s and continued throughout the 1800s.
From Connecticuthistory.org:
During the 19th century, the Cape Verde Islands remained a convenient source for fresh provisions and additional crew members for vessels setting out on lengthy voyages. These ships included whalers sailing out of New England ports. Young Cape Verdeans proved eager recruits, looking for adventure and seeking to escape poverty and the periodic famines that ravaged their islands. At the end of the voyage, the captain often discharged the entire crew at the vessel’s home port. Though some Cape Verdean sailors took their earnings and returned to their islands, others remained in the United States, signing on for additional voyages and making new homes in New England.
These men primarily settled in New Bedford and Providence, laying the foundation for the first major diaspora community in the United States.
So when Cabo Verde’s national airline decided to fly to the United States, they didn’t choose Boston Logan or any of the larger airports in the area. They went to the one closest to where their people actually lived.
According to a press release from PVD, the new service, which began on May 4th, “is designed primarily to support visiting friends and relatives traveling between Rhode Island and Cabo Verde, while also opening the door to broader leisure and tourism opportunities.”
This is actually TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ second foray of this route – they previously served PVD from June 2015 through January 2018.
At first glance, a direct flight between Rhode Island and a small island nation off the coast of Africa sounds completely random.
But once you understand the centuries-old connection between Cabo Verde and southern New England, the route suddenly makes perfect sense.
And honestly, stories like this are part of what makes aviation so interesting sometimes — behind some of the world’s strangest-looking routes are histories most travelers have never heard before.
So yeah…some airlines launch flashy routes to Paris or Tokyo.
Meanwhile, Cabo Verde Airlines looked at Rhode Island and basically said: “Nope. That’s where our people are.” 😆
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
