Congo Airways back from the brink?

In July the government announced the renewal of Congo Airways' fleet with the acquisition of three Airbus A320s and - according to government spokesman Patrick Muyaya (minister of communication and media} - this will enable the airline ‘…to resolve the dual issues relating to the loss of the AOC and IATA approval by the deadline of 16 September’.

He explains that this will strengthen Congo Airways' operational capacity, unlocking its untapped potential as ‘the revival of the company is essential, given its significant impact on national sovereignty, the mobility of people and goods, and the country’s economic and social life’.

There was originally a national project by the government to create a new airline but a consensus view, the spokesman continued, was that ‘it should not be to the detriment of Congo Airways’. This was soon followed by the emergency plan - and the rental of leased aircraft.

In addition, the Congolese authorities decided not to invest in Corsair, despite the launch of its Brazzaville-Paris service, as the priority was to continue Congo Airways’ operations.

Equatorial Congo Airlines (ECAir) resumed flights from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire and Ollombo on 16 May this year.

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso, the country’s minister for international cooperation and the promotion of public/private partnerships, has met with representatives of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on two major projects in line with government strategy.

They have both started, with the aim or modernising the aviation sector and improving the country's air connectivity. To this end, it’s believed that three ARJ-21s could soon join the company's fleet.