Air Centrafrique
Founded | 1966 |
---|---|
Commenced operations | 1967 |
Ceased operations | Late 1970s |
Headquarters | Bangui, Central African Republic |
Air Centrafrique was the flag carrier of the Central African Republic from 1966 to the late 1970s. The company operated domestic services. It had its headquarters in Bangui.[1]
History
The carrier was formed as Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui in 1966 in association with Air Afrique and Union de Transports Aériens (UTA),[2][3] with the latter providing management and technical assistance.[4] It was conceived to provide feeder services to Air Afrique.[4] Operations started in early 1967, linking Bangui with Berberati[nb 1] using Douglas DC-3 equipment.[2][3] In July 1967 , a Beech 95 Baron was acquired for flying new routes to Bakouma and Bangassou.[4]
One DC-3 and one Beech Baron made up the aircraft park at March 1970 .[6] Gaining flag carrier status, the company was renamed Air Centrafrique in mid-1971 following reorganisation after the government attempted to withdraw from the Air Afrique consortium earlier that year.[7]
The launching of Air Centrafrique as an independent airline was one of the moves of the proclaimed Emperor Bokassa I that indebted the country, to the point that banks began to refuse loans to the state in the same year.[8] Following the rupture with Air Afrique, agreements were signed with Zaire, Congo and Chad for Air Centrafrique to fly to those destinations.[9] On 13 February 1973, Bokassa issued a decree suspending operations of Air Centrafrique, due to a conflict with French navigation staff.[10]
By March 1975Bambari, Bangassou, Birao, Bouar, Bria, Carnot, M'Boki, Ouadda and Zemio were operated; seasonal flights were also undertaken during the safari hunting period.[11] A Caravelle 3 entered the fleet in the late 1970s.[4][nb 2]
, passenger scheduled services to Bangui,The airline ceased operations between 1978 and 1979.[nb 3] The collapse of Air Centrafrique, along with other debacles of the Bokassa legacy, contributed to undermining the prestige of the Central African Republic internationally.[13]
Destinations
Following is a list of destinations served by Air Centrafrique all through its history:
Fleet
Air Centrafrique operated the following equipment throughout its history:
See also
Notes
- ↑ It was also informed that the first services flown by the company linked Bangui with Birao.[5]
- ↑ An aircraft of the type was included in the airline's fleet in 1972.[7]
- ↑ Air Centrafrique appeared in the World airline directory compilation published by Flight International in April 1978 ,[1] but the entry was removed from that directory in April 1979 .[12] It is assumed that the carrier ceased operations at some time within that period.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Guttery (1998), p. 33.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Titley, E. Brian. Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University press, 2002. p. 69
- ↑ Červenka, Zdenek. Land-Locked Countries of Africa. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1973. p. 151
- ↑ Année africaine. Éditions A. Pedone., 1974. p. 410
- ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Decalo, Samuel. Psychoses of Power: African Personal Dictatorships. Gainesville, Fla.: Florida Academic Press, 1997. p. 223
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Bibliography
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.