Air Zaïre
Encyclopedia
Air Zaïre was the national airline of the Africa
n nation of Zaire
. Its head office was located on the grounds of N'djili Airport in Kinshasa
.
After the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
gained independence in 1960
from Belgium
, the Belgian national airline Sabena
continued to operate routes in the country. Plans for the formation of a Congolese airline were delayed due to the Congo Crisis
; however, in January 1961 a protocol was signed with Sabena for the creation of a limited liability company
to be named Air Congo. On the company was formed, and incorporated on with Sabena providing technical assistance and personnel. The Congolese government
held a 65% percent stake, with Sabena holding 30%, and Air Brousse and Sobelair
holding the balance. The initial fleet of Air Congo consisted of Douglas DC-3
s, Douglas DC-4
s and Douglas DC-6Bs; the first international destinations served by the carrier were Entebbe
, Luanda
, Nairobi
, and Ndola
. Sabena and Air Brousse continued their operations but these were ceased when Air Congo began operations on . 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.
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 Entebbe
, Lagos
, Nairobi
, Ndola
, Salisbury
and 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.
The airline signed an agreement with French airline Union des Transports Aériens (UTA) in January 1964, which saw the two airlines cooperating on flghts between Africa and Europe. UTA operated a service from Johannesburg
-Salisbury-Léopoldville
-Paris with Douglas DC-8
equipment, and Air Congo operated Boeing 707s on the Léopoldville-Douala
-Paris route. The airline added four Beech Barons in October 1964 in order to provide feeder services, and in November 1964, Zambia Airways
reintroduced the Ndola
-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. 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.
Following the 1965 coup which brought Mobutu Sésé Seko
to power, most of Sabena
's property in the country was seized, and the Belgian airline had its traffic rights at Élisabethville cancelled. In addition, the Congolese government seized funds which were due to be paid by Air Congo to Sabena, and other funds earned by Sabena in the country. Foreign ownership of the airline was eliminated at the same time, with the Congolese government holding a seventy percent share, the Institut National Securite Sociale holding eight percent, and local Congolese concerns holding the remainder. At the time, the fleet comprised two Douglas DC-6
s, eight DC-4s, eleven DC-3s, two Curtiss C-46s, three Beech 18s, five Beech Barons, one Piper PA-23 Aztec and one Cessna 310
.
In 1967 the airline ordered two Sud Aviation Caravelle
s for delivery in October 1967 and the summer of 1968, and on 12 May 1967 a BAC One Eleven, on a one year lease from Laker Airways
entered service on the airlines' routes. The airline operated a service from Kinshasa
to Brussels
in a pool arrangement with Sabena until June 1967. On 25 November 1967 a Douglas DC-8
joined the airlines' fleet, and it flew on routes from Lubumbashi
-Kinshasa-Brussels-Paris
or Rome
, with the last sector being flown on alternate weeks. The Caravelles were introduced on regional flights from Kinshasa-Lagos
and Kinshasa-Bangui
-Fort-Lamy. The airline also operated twice weekly flights on the route Kinshasa-Entebbe
-Nairobi
-Dar es Salaam
-Lubumbashi-Lusaka
-Lubumbashi-Kinshasa. The DC-6s operated on regional routes linking Kinshasa-Goma
-Bujumbura
-Entebbe-Nairobi. The airline operated the DC-3s, DC-4s and DC-6s to 26 domestic destinations, and the smaller Beech aircraft were operated to 27 other domestic destinations. At the end of 1967, an agreement was signed with Fokker
for the purchase of ten Fokker F 27-600s
. A Douglas DC-3 operated by the airline crashed on 15 February 1970, under unknown circumstances. In October, 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.
to the Republic of Zaire
, and Air Congo changed its name to Air Zaïre. In the same year, the airline placed an order for three Boeing 737-200s, and occasionally operated Lockheed L-100 Hercules on lease from the Zairean government for cargo operations. The airline ordered two McDonnell Douglas DC-10
s and five Boeing 737
s on 3 January 1973. The DC-10s were delivered to the airline in 1973, and in February 1973, the airline announced that it was to acquire a Boeing 747-100
. The 747 was operated on a lease and was only operational with the airline for approximately a year. It was during this period that Zairean President
Mobutu gained renown for commandeering aircraft belonging to the airline in order to transport himself and his entourage on shopping trips to Europe. In the spring of 1973, it was reported that when travelling to West Germany
, Mobutu requisitioned the Boeing 747 for himself, and utilised one of the airlines' DC-10s to transport his wife, leaving the airline short of jets for its own services.
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
.
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. In September 1983, Mobutu announced an austerity program, which would see some forty-seven parastatals, including Air Zaïre, being liquidated or reorganised to operate upon a commercial basis. 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. In early 1985, the government signed a deal with the Israel
i 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, however, the deal did not materialise.
By 1985 the airline was losing passengers, so much so that private carrier Scibe Airlift
was carrying more domestic passengers than it, and the Zairean 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
. 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.
The airline was declared bankrupt on 12 June 1995 by a Brussels court after incurring debts to the value of BFr
1 billion, of which Sabena was a major creditor. The ruling was disputed by President Mobutu, who said that a Belgian court didn't have the right to declare a Zairean 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 which was owned by a Mobutu family member. In 1998, it was reported that the airline had a total debt of BFr1.5 billion, including 700 million which was for social liabilities.
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.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n nation of Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
. Its head office was located on the grounds of N'djili Airport in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
.
Air Congo
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
gained independence in 1960
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...
from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the Belgian national airline Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
continued to operate routes in the country. Plans for the formation of a Congolese airline were delayed due to the Congo Crisis
Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu...
; however, in January 1961 a protocol was signed with Sabena for the creation of a limited liability company
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
to be named Air Congo. On the company was formed, and incorporated on with Sabena providing technical assistance and personnel. The Congolese government
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second institution in the central executive branch of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first institution being the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who has the title of head of state.- Description :Under the...
held a 65% percent stake, with Sabena holding 30%, and Air Brousse and Sobelair
Sobelair
Sobelair was an airline from Belgium. It was headquartered in Brussels and operated mostly non-scheduled passenger and cargo flights out of Brussels Airport.-History:...
holding the balance. The initial fleet of Air Congo consisted of Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
s, Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
s and Douglas DC-6Bs; the first international destinations served by the carrier were Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
, Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, and Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
. Sabena and Air Brousse continued their operations but these were ceased when Air Congo began operations on . Whilst the airline was granted exclusive rights
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
to operate scheduled domestic and international flights, it also received subsidies from the government in Léopoldville
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
for any shortfall in loans which had been approved by the government.
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 Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
, Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
, Salisbury
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
and Usumbura. Jet service to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
was inaugurated in March 1963 utilising a Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
which was leased from Sabena, and in April 1963 the airline joined the International Air Transport Association
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
, becoming the 94th overall member.
The airline signed an agreement with French airline Union des Transports Aériens (UTA) in January 1964, which saw the two airlines cooperating on flghts between Africa and Europe. UTA operated a service from Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
-Salisbury-Léopoldville
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
-Paris with Douglas DC-8
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
equipment, and Air Congo operated Boeing 707s on the Léopoldville-Douala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...
-Paris route. The airline added four Beech Barons in October 1964 in order to provide feeder services, and in November 1964, Zambia Airways
Zambia Airways
Zambia Airways Corporation was the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia.-History:Zambia Airways was founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of Central African Airways. The original fleet consisted of two Douglas DC-3 and three DHC-2 Beaver. By 1967 Zambia Airways had become independent of Central...
reintroduced the Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
-Élisabethville route which was formerly operated by Central African Airways
Central African Airways
Central African Airways was formed in 1946 from the wartime Southern Rhodesian Air Services , which was in turn formed from the pre-war Rhodesia And Nyasaland Airways and Southern Rhodesia Air Force communications squadron...
. Zambia Airways
Zambia Airways
Zambia Airways Corporation was the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia.-History:Zambia Airways was founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of Central African Airways. The original fleet consisted of two Douglas DC-3 and three DHC-2 Beaver. By 1967 Zambia Airways had become independent of Central...
operated the flight on Mondays, and Air Congo operated the same service on Fridays. On 29 November 1964, a Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
of the airline, leased from Belgian International Aviation Services crashed upon take-off from Stanleyville
Kisangani
Kisangani is the capital of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the 3rd largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo....
, 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.
Following the 1965 coup which brought Mobutu Sésé Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
to power, most of Sabena
Sabena
SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...
's property in the country was seized, and the Belgian airline had its traffic rights at Élisabethville cancelled. In addition, the Congolese government seized funds which were due to be paid by Air Congo to Sabena, and other funds earned by Sabena in the country. Foreign ownership of the airline was eliminated at the same time, with the Congolese government holding a seventy percent share, the Institut National Securite Sociale holding eight percent, and local Congolese concerns holding the remainder. At the time, the fleet comprised two Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
s, eight DC-4s, eleven DC-3s, two Curtiss C-46s, three Beech 18s, five Beech Barons, one Piper PA-23 Aztec and one Cessna 310
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...
.
In 1967 the airline ordered two Sud Aviation Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...
s for delivery in October 1967 and the summer of 1968, and on 12 May 1967 a BAC One Eleven, on a one year lease from Laker Airways
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide...
entered service on the airlines' routes. The airline operated a service from Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in a pool arrangement with Sabena until June 1967. On 25 November 1967 a Douglas DC-8
Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...
joined the airlines' fleet, and it flew on routes from Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi
Lubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
-Kinshasa-Brussels-Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
or Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, with the last sector being flown on alternate weeks. The Caravelles were introduced on regional flights from Kinshasa-Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
and Kinshasa-Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
-Fort-Lamy. The airline also operated twice weekly flights on the route Kinshasa-Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
-Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
-Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
-Lubumbashi-Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
-Lubumbashi-Kinshasa. The DC-6s operated on regional routes linking Kinshasa-Goma
Goma
Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...
-Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
-Entebbe-Nairobi. The airline operated the DC-3s, DC-4s and DC-6s to 26 domestic destinations, and the smaller Beech aircraft were operated to 27 other domestic destinations. At the end of 1967, an agreement was signed with Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
for the purchase of ten Fokker F 27-600s
Fokker F27
The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.-Design and development:Design of the Fokker F27 started in the 1950s as a replacement to the successful Douglas DC-3 airliner...
. A Douglas DC-3 operated by the airline crashed on 15 February 1970, under unknown circumstances. In October, Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
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.
Air Zaïre
On 27 October 1971 the country changed its name from the Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
to the Republic of Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
, and Air Congo changed its name to Air Zaïre. In the same year, the airline placed an order for three Boeing 737-200s, and occasionally operated Lockheed L-100 Hercules on lease from the Zairean government for cargo operations. The airline ordered two McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
s and five Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
s on 3 January 1973. The DC-10s were delivered to the airline in 1973, and in February 1973, the airline announced that it was to acquire a Boeing 747-100
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
. The 747 was operated on a lease and was only operational with the airline for approximately a year. It was during this period that Zairean President
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....
Mobutu gained renown for commandeering aircraft belonging to the airline in order to transport himself and his entourage on shopping trips to Europe. In the spring of 1973, it was reported that when travelling to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, Mobutu requisitioned the Boeing 747 for himself, and utilised one of the airlines' DC-10s to transport his wife, leaving the airline short of jets for its own services.
A DC-4 of the airline was involved in an accident at Gemena
Gemena
Gemena is a town and capital of the Sud-Ubangi District of Equateur Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The town has a large airport.Mobutu Sese Seko's mother, Mama Yemo, died in Gemena in 1971; a vast mausoleum was built in her memory....
on 7 April 1974, and on 9 January 1975 a Fokker 27 was involved at Boende
Boende
Boende is a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on the Tshuapa River, east of Mbandaka. It is the capital of Tshuapa District. It is a river port with ferries sailing to Kinshasa via Mbandanka and is also home to an airport. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 36,158. The...
, 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
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, Bangui
Bangui
-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...
, Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
, Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
, Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Libreville
Libreville
Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon, in west central Africa. The city is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea, and a trade center for a timber region. As of 2005, it has a population of 578,156.- History :...
, Lomé
Lomé
Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels...
and Luanda
Luanda
Luanda, formerly named São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and its administrative center. It has a population of at least 5 million...
.
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. In September 1983, Mobutu announced an austerity program, which would see some forty-seven parastatals, including Air Zaïre, being liquidated or reorganised to operate upon a commercial basis. 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. In early 1985, the government signed a deal with the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i 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, however, the deal did not materialise.
By 1985 the airline was losing passengers, so much so that private carrier Scibe Airlift
Scibe Airlift
Scibe Airlift is an airline based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It operates from N'Djili Airport, Kinshasa.The airline was on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union, as were all airlines regulated by the authorities in the DRC.The airline started activities with a single...
was carrying more domestic passengers than it, and the Zairean 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
British Caledonian
British Caledonian was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, operating out of Gatwick Airport in the 1970s and 1980s...
. As negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa began in 1990, a number of African airlines which had previously flown to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
resumed flights; Air Zaïre began the operation of flights to Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in April 1991.
The airline was declared bankrupt on 12 June 1995 by a Brussels court after incurring debts to the value of BFr
Belgian franc
The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...
1 billion, of which Sabena was a major creditor. The ruling was disputed by President Mobutu, who said that a Belgian court didn't have the right to declare a Zairean 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
Scibe Airlift
Scibe Airlift is an airline based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . It operates from N'Djili Airport, Kinshasa.The airline was on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union, as were all airlines regulated by the authorities in the DRC.The airline started activities with a single...
, an airline which was owned by a Mobutu family member. In 1998, it was reported that the airline had a total debt of BFr1.5 billion, including 700 million which was for social liabilities.
New Air Zaïre
After the collapse of Air Zaïre, Sabena entered into a partnership with the Zairean government to create a new airline to be called New Air Zaïre. The new airline would operate domestic services, whilst Sabena would utilise it's traffic rights and operate international flights. Sabena, which was partnered with SwissairSwissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
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.
Accidents and incidents
- On 18 August 1968, Douglas DC-3DDouglas DC-3The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
9Q-CUM of Air Congo was destroyed by fire at N'djili Airport, KinshasaKinshasaKinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
. - On 15 February 1970, Douglas C-47A 9Q-CUP of Air Congo was reported to have been written off at an unknown location.