Congo Airways
| |||||||
Founded | 15 August 2014 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commenced operations | 20 October 2015 | ||||||
Operating bases | N'djili Airport[1] | ||||||
Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
Destinations | 3 | ||||||
Headquarters | Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||
Key people | |||||||
Website | congoairways.com |
Congo Airways S.A. is the state-owned flag carrier airline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With a paid-up capital of US$90 million, it started operations on 20 October 2015.
History
This article needs to be updated.(November 2023) |
Congo Airways was created on 15 August 2014 at the government's instigation, and made its first flight on 20 October 2015 using two Airbus A320 aircraft acquired from Alitalia.[3] The company initially served Congolese destinations from its base at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, and planned to increase its fleet and serve regional and international markets.[4][5] Air France Consulting provided technical assistance to the airline.[4] One of the airline's aircraft was impounded in Dublin for a few weeks in September 2015 where it was to be painted.[6]
On 10 December 2019, Congo Airways signed a $194.4 million deal to acquire two E175 jets from
Corporate affairs
Ownership
The airline is 100%
Business trends
Congo Airways does not appear to have published its accounts; also, in an audit dated 28 May 2021 there were detailed allegations that embezzlement and over-invoicing totalling several million dollars had taken place at Congo Airways over recent years.[12][13] Available figures (largely from AFRAA reports, which contain inconsistencies) are shown below (for years ending 31 December):
2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnover (US$m) | 40 | ||||
Net profit
|
|||||
Number of employees (at year end) | 365 | 326 | 430 | ||
Number of passengers (000s) | 210 | 358 | 359 | ||
Passenger load factor (%) | 71 | 62 | |||
Number of aircraft (at year end) | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Notes/sources | [14][5] | [15] | [11] |
Destinations
As of September 2023[update], the company served the Lubumbashi–Kinshasa sector prior to suspending operations.[1] In May 2018 the airline commenced flights to Douala and Johannesburg-OR Tambo Airport.[16]
Country | City | Airport | Notes | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cameroon | Douala | Douala International Airport | Terminated | [16] |
Democratic Republic of Congo
|
Gemena | Gemena Airport | Terminated | [17] |
Goma | Goma International Airport | [18] | ||
Kananga | Kananga Airport | Terminated | [17] | |
Kindu | Kindu Airport | Terminated | [17] | |
Kinshasa | Kinshasa–N'djili | Hub | [1] | |
Kisangani | Kisangani Airport
|
Terminated | [17] | |
Lubumbashi | Lubumbashi International Airport | [1] | ||
Mbandaka | Mbandaka Airport | Terminated | [17] | |
Mbuji-Mayi | Mbuji-Mayi Airport
|
Terminated | [17] | |
Moanda | Muanda Airport | Terminated | [19] | |
South Africa | Johannesburg | O. R. Tambo International Airport | Terminated | [16] |
Fleet
As of August 2019, the Congo Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[20][needs update]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Y | Total | ||||
Airbus A320-200 | 2 | — | 10 | 150 | 160 | |
Bombardier Dash 8-Q400
|
2 | — | 5 | 64 | 69 | |
Embraer 190-E2 | — | 2 | 12 | 84 | 96 | Delivery expected Q2 2022[8] |
Embraer 195-E2 | — | 2 | 12 | 108 | 120 | Delivery expected to commence in 2022[21][22] |
Total | 4 | 4 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Congo Airways suspends flight operations". ch-aviation GmbH. 12 September 2023. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Mme Louise MAayuma Kasende, Presidente Du Conseil D'Administration" (in French). Archived from the original on 6 December 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Company History". Congo Airways. Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Congo Airways outlines regional, int'l expansion plans". ch-aviation. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Congo Airways poised to go up, up and away…". African Aerospace. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Court grounds Congolese aircraft in €10m debt dispute". RTE. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Brazil's Embraer signs $194.4 million deal for two E175 jets with Congo Airways". Reuters. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ a b "EMBRAER S.A.: Congo Airways Converts Embraer E175 Order to E190-E2 Jets". PR Newswire. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Gerald Andae (15 September 2021). "Kenya Airways leases 2 planes to Congo carrier". The EastAfrican. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- AllAfrica.com). Daily Nation. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ a b "AFRAA Annual Report 2019" (PDF). AFRAA. 2019.
- ^ "Congo Airways: several million dollars diverted (IGF)". Digital Congo. 31 May 2021.
- ^ "Damning audit report casts doubt on Congo Airways' $272m fleet expansion". Africa Intelligence. 3 June 2021.
- ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2017" (PDF). AFRAA. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2018" (PDF). AFRAA. 2018.
- ^ a b c Liu, Jim (29 May 2018). "Congo Airways adds new African destinations in May 2018". www.routesonline.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Congo Airways outlines regional, int'l expansion plans". ch-aviation GmbH. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 September 2016.
- ^ "Congo Airways".
- ^ Liu, Jim (20 August 2018). "Congo Airways adds Moanda flight from mid-August 2018". www.routesonline.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 12.
- ^ "Congo Airways Doubles Its Order for Embraer E2 Aircraft". 13 January 2021.
- ^ "EMBRAER S.A.: Congo Airways Orders Two E195-E2" (Press release).