No TAP flight to Mindelo for 3 days in a row. What is going on?

I know it's too late to help you personally, but hopefully this will help others in future. Cape Verde has an extremely dry, windy climate. The winds actually blow in from the Sahara desert. During the months of December to February, these winds are at their peak. And they carry large amounts of dust. This gives rise to a meteorological condition called BRUMA SECA, which roughly translates to Dry Mist.

When the dust storms are particularly heavy, pilots often cannot see to land their aircraft under visual approaches. In Mindelo, they do not have the automatic beacon landing system which guides pilots in for a safe touchdown. And even with the beacon system, if the Bruma Seca is too thick, there is insufficient visual distance for a safe landing (in the last step a pilot must take control of the aircraft to touchdown safely).

So in Mindelo, it is a combination of the government's short sightedness as well as the weather. But believe me, you don't want to fly through this stuff when it is too bad. It's just not safe. At the worst times, the Port Authority even forbids boats and ships from sailing because you cannot see anything.

Here is a satellite picture of the Bruma Seca showing the dust coming from the Sahara to Cape Verde.

liley11 wrote:

Hi,
It was a sand storm 3 days ago but still no TAP flight there. What is going on? TAP said it is a government issue. Do you have a war there?! We are stuck in Lisbon 3rd day. Not bad- enjoying Mriott hotel but is it still cold