In a video shared on Facebook, activist Jeiel de Freitas reported that a group of seven young individuals intended to participate in an exchange program hosted by Friends of Angola in Cape Verde, traveling with TAP via Lisbon due to the lack of direct flights between Angola and Cape Verde.
He stated that an airline employee informed them that all passengers transiting through Portugal were required to present authorization issued by AIMA.
The activist questioned the legal basis for this requirement, arguing that all participants had completed online check-in and that there was no public information from TAP indicating the necessity of this document.
According to Jeiel de Freitas, the group suspects the prevention might have resulted from “higher orders,” considering the episode a “severe” violation of human rights and freedom of movement.
Contacted by Lusa, TAP briefly stated that it “always complies with the instructions of the competent authorities” regarding boarding eligibility, without clarifying the alleged AIMA authorization requirement.
Activist Florence Capita, also a member of the group, expressed her dissatisfaction on social media, stating she was “incredulous” about the situation.
“It is a profoundly sad and worrying situation, a reflection of the country we have and how much we still need to progress,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
The young woman lamented that, 50 years post-independence, Angola continues to be “marked by successive human rights violations, the normalization of injustice, and the lack of accountability in many spheres.”
She further noted that the group was followed to their accommodation, describing the incident as “a national disgrace” and a call to “abandon complacency.”
