Air Zaïre

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Air Zaïre
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
QC AZR —
Founded6 June 1961 (1961-06-06)
Commenced operations29 June 1961 (1961-06-29)
Ceased operations12 June 1995 (1995-06-12)
Kinshasa, Zaire

Air Zaïre was the

national airline of Zaire. Its head office was located on the grounds of N'djili Airport in Kinshasa.[1]

History

Air Congo

Air Congo was originally formed in June 1961 as the

Congolese Republic, with Sabena providing both technical assistance and equipment.[2] Initially, the Congolese government had a 65% participation in the airline, Sabena had a 30% holding, and Air Brousse and Sobelair
held the balance.

Services to

Léopoldville with Brussels via Rome, using Boeing 707 equipment operated by Sabena on behalf of the carrier.[3][4]
By 1964 the airline was also operating
DC-4s equipment, leased from Aerovias Panama Airways to complement the Sabena-leased aircraft.[2]

Air Congo logo.
Air Congo Douglas DC-4 Skymaster at Brussels Airport for maintenance during 1965.

After Congolese independence from

carrier were Entebbe, Luanda, Nairobi, and Ndola.[5] Sabena and Air Brousse continued their operations but these were ceased when Air Congo began operations on 21 June 1961. Whilst the airline was granted exclusive rights to operate scheduled domestic and international flights, it also received subsidies from the government in Léopoldville for any shortfall in loans which had been approved by the government.[6]

Part of the contract with Sabena saw the Belgian airline train Air Congo personnel for a six-year period, and by the end of 1962 Air Congo had 2,400 employees, of which some 1,100 were seconded from Sabena. By this time the airlines' destinations included

Usumbura. Jet service to Brussels was inaugurated in March 1963 utilising a Boeing 707 which was leased from Sabena, and in April 1963 the airline joined the International Air Transport Association, becoming the 94th overall member.[6][7]

The airline signed an agreement with

Élisabethville route which was formerly operated by Central African Airways. Zambia Airways operated the flight on Mondays, and Air Congo operated the same service on Fridays.[6] On 29 November 1964, a Douglas DC-4 of the airline, leased from Belgian International Aviation Services crashed upon take-off from Stanleyville, killing seven of the fifteen people on board. It was initially reported the aircraft, which was carrying Belgian soldiers, may have been shot down by rebels, but it was later revealed the aircraft had hit an empty fuel drum on the runway upon taking off.[6][8][9][10]

Following the

Piper PA-23 Aztec and one Cessna 310.[6]

In 1967 the airline ordered two

Pan American World Airways began managing the airline, under a three-year management contract. The American airline provided 14 specialists to the airline in order to assist with technical and operational issues. There was special emphasis placed on the training of Congolese nationals to run the airline, and in 1970 two Douglas DC-8s were bought from Pan Am.[6]

Air Zaïre

Boeing 737-200 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
. (1975)

On 27 October 1971, the country changed its name from the

Mobutu gained renown for commandeering aircraft belonging to the airline in order to transport himself and his entourage on shopping trips to Europe.[15][16] In the spring of 1973, it was reported that when traveling to West Germany, Mobutu requisitioned the Boeing 747 for himself, and utilized one of the airlines' DC-10s to transport his wife, leaving the airline short of jets for its own services.[17]

Le Bourget Airport
. (1986)

A DC-4 of the airline was involved in an accident at Gemena on 7 April 1974, and on 9 January 1975 a Fokker 27 was involved at Boende, killing one person on the ground. On 3 March 1976, a Fokker 27 was written off in an accident in Angola. The three Boeing 737-200s which were ordered in 1973 joined the fleet during the 1970s, replacing some Fokkers and Caravelles. The addition of the Boeing twinjet allowed to network expansion with the addition of routes to Madrid, Abidjan, Bangui, Bujumbura, Conakry, Dakar, Libreville, Lomé and Luanda.[6] The airline ordered four Fokker F 27–500 turboprops in January 1981, however, the early 1980s saw the airline undergoing financial difficulties, and in order to ease pressure on the financial resources of the airline, one DC-8, one 737-200 and two F 27s were taken out of service. Due to the financial crisis, the airline also suspended all international flights, with the exception of those on the Kinshasa-Lagos-Brussels route.

parastatals, including Air Zaïre, being liquidated or reorganized to operate upon a commercial basis.[18] The government announced that staffing levels at the airline would be reduced by 6,500 to 2,500, and that a forty percent stake in the airline would be offered to prospective buyers.[19] In early 1985, the government signed a deal with the Israeli Tamman Group, giving the foreign company a forty percent stake in the airline, in return for a US$400 million investment in Zaire's transport and pharmaceutical industries,[20] however, the deal did not materialise.[21]

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 at Charles de Gaulle Airport
. (1986)

By 1985 the airline was losing passengers, so much so that private carrier Scibe Airlift was carrying more domestic passengers than it,[22] and the Zairian government contracted French airline UTA to manage the airline for a six-year period. In June 1985 one of the DC-10s was offered to sale and was eventually bought by British Caledonian.[6] As negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa began in 1990, a number of African airlines which had previously flown to South Africa resumed flights; Air Zaïre began the operation of flights to Johannesburg in April 1991.[23]

The airline was declared bankrupt on 12 June 1995 by a Brussels court after incurring debts to the value of BFr1 billion, of which Sabena was a major creditor. The ruling was disputed by President Mobutu, who said that a Belgian court did not have the right to declare a Zairian company bankrupt and threatened to close Sabena's office in Kinshasa in retaliation. In response, the Belgian government offered the bankrupt carrier's landing rights to Scibe Airlift, an airline that was owned by a Mobutu family member.[24] In 1998, it was reported that the airline had a total debt of BFr1.5 billion, including 700 million which was for social liabilities.[25]

New Air Zaïre

After the collapse of Air Zaïre, Sabena entered into a partnership with the Zairian government to create a new airline to be called New Air Zaïre. The new airline would operate domestic services, whilst Sabena would utilize its traffic rights and operate international flights. Sabena, which was partnered with Swissair and South African investors, and was initially offered a controlling 51% stake, purchased a 49.5% stake for a reported BFr100 million; the government would hold the controlling 50.5% stake.[24][26][27][28]

The airline was reorganized into Lignes Aériennes Congolaises, which began flights in 1997, the same year when Zaïre was renamed as the Democratic Republic of Congo.[29]

Fleet

Aircraft in use at the time of Air Zaïre's collapse in 1995[30][31][32][33][34]
Aircraft In service
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 3
Boeing 737-200
 7
Boeing 747-100
 1
Douglas DC-8 5
Total
16

Accidents and incidents

  • On 18 August 1968, Douglas DC-3D 9Q-CUM of Air Congo was destroyed by fire at N'djili Airport, Kinshasa.[35]
  • On 15 February 1970,
    Douglas C-47A 9Q-CUP of Air Congo was reported to have been written off at an unknown location.[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 5–11 April 1995. 47.
  2. ^ a b "WORLD AIRLINE SURVEY... – Air Congo" (PDF). Flight International: 495. 2 April 1964. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  3. ^ "AIR COMMERCE..." (PDF). Flight International: 598. 25 April 1963. Retrieved 26 December 2016. The latest Boeing 707-329 delivered to Sabena is seen in this photograph wearing the insignia of the flag airline of the Congolese Republic. Sabena provides Air Congo with technical assistance, personnel, equipment and some aircraft on lease purchase, and also operates the regular twice-weekly Boeing service between the Congo and Brussels on behalf of Air Congo.
  4. ^ "AIR COMMERCE..." (PDF). Flight International: 360. 14 March 1963. Retrieved 16 October 2011. On the occasion of the first Leopoldville – Brussels air service by Air Congo a reception in Brussels was attended by M A. Bertrand, Belgian Minister of Communications.
  5. ^ a b "The world's airlines – Air Congo". Flight International. 81 (2770): 552. 12 April 1962. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-7864-0495-7
    .
  7. ^ "IATA's 94th Member" (PDF). Flight International: 595. 25 April 1963. Retrieved 16 October 2011. The Leopoldville-based airline Air Congo has become the 94th member of the International Air Transport Association.
  8. ^ "Airliner down in Congo". The Age. Léopoldville. 1 December 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  9. ^ Garrison, Lloyd (1 December 1964). "BELGIAN AIRLINER CRASHES IN CONGO; 7 Die in DC-4 Reported Shot Down at Stanleyville". The New York Times. Léopoldville. p. 1. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  10. Aviation Safety Network
    . Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  11. ISBN 978-0-7864-3670-5
    . Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  12. ^ "Air transport—Big contract for Laker". Flight International. 91 (3032): 621. 20 April 1967. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. A long-term contract has been signed by Laker Airwavs with Air Congo, the national airline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), for the operation of BAC One-Elevens on the airline's services from Kinshasa. The contract is worth about £1 million. 
  13. ^ American Aviation. Vol. 32. Ziff-Davis Publishing. p. 90.
  14. ISBN 1-55212-524-6
    . Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  15. ^ Cowell, Alan (5 April 1992). "Mobutu's Zaire: Magic and Decay". The New York Times. p. 631. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  16. ISBN 0-520-04185-2
    . Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  17. ^ "Mobutu the Mighty". Time. 28 October 1974. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  18. ISBN 0-7735-2743-5
    . Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  19. ISBN 0-415-00441-1
    . Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  20. ISBN 1-870915-10-0
    . Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  21. ISBN 0-87609-035-8
    .
  22. ISBN 1-85743-183-9
    . Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  23. OCLC 48535892
    .
  24. ^ a b De Wulf, Herman (20 September 1995). "Zaire offers Sabena stake in new airline". Flight International. Brussels. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  25. ^ Dermine, Melody (4 August 1998). "Le Congo lance sa compagnie aérienne La LAC devrait démarrer le vol Kinshasa-Bruxelles à la mi-août" (in French). Le Soir. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.
  26. ^ ". . . as Zaire looks for new carrier". Flight International. 24 January 1996. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.
  27. ^ "News from the World of Business". Montreal: Inter-Church Coalition on Africa. 19 January 1996. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  28. ^ "Sabena pursues share in proposed Zairean airline". Flight International. 11 October 1995. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  29. ISBN 978-0-8108-6325-5
    .
  30. ^ "Air Zaïre Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > Democratic Republic of the Congo > Air Zaire". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  32. ^ "Airfleets- Air Zaire".
  33. ^ "Air Zaire on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  34. ^ "Air Zaire - Air Congo". www.angelfire.com. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  35. ^ "9Q-CUM Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  36. ^ "9Q-CUP Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 12 October 2010.

External links

Media related to Air Zaïre at Wikimedia Commons

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