Sierra National Airlines
Encyclopedia
Sierra National Airlines is the national airline of Sierra Leone
. It is based at the Lungi International Airport
, in Lungi
, Sierra Leone
. It operated scheduled domestic, regional and international services, but is currently not active.
partnership with Nigeria
, Ghana
, and the Gambia. In 1982, the Sierra Leone government entered into a partnership with Alia/Royal Jordanian Airlines
, and relaunched Sierra Leone Airways as Sierra Leone Airlines . Following the suspension of operations by Sierra Leone Airlines in 1987, services from Freetown were resumed on 1 May 1990 under the current airline name .
In early 2004 the airline experienced some problems with its United Kingdom
Sales and Reservations structures which were restructured. Scheduled flights between London Gatwick Airport
and Lungi International Airport
, Freetown, resumed on 30 November 2004 .
In October 2004 Gold Coast Aviation (PTY) Ltd., a South African based aviation company, who have proposed to take over the operations of the Sierra National Airlines (SNA), have held discussions with President Kabbah
about their intent to start operation of a new airline in partnership with SNA from 19 November 2004, subject to the approval of the National Commission for Privatisation. They intend to operate a Douglas DC-9 on Freetown - Liberia
- Accra
- Abidjan
services, and a service between Freetown and Johannesburg
. A Boeing 767
would be used on the Freetown-London service, with connections to other cities in Europe
. They also intend later to commence flights to Dubai
with connections through Banjul and Conakry
In early 2005 the Sierra Leone Airports Authority claimed that SNA owed them US$800,000 in charges for landing fees, electricity, rent and ground handling services and complained that the refusal to pay the debts is affecting their operations. They won a court case against the airline but the government stopped the process
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. It is based at the Lungi International Airport
Lungi International Airport
-Incidents and accidents:On August 11th, 2004 at around 2:30 p.m. a Boeing 737 plane operated by Air Guinee Express crashed while failing to take off at Lungi Airport. None of the 70 passengers aboard were killed....
, in Lungi
Lungi, Sierra Leone
Lungi is a coastal town in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The town had a population of 4185 in the 2004 census , with a 2006 estimate of 7,720. It lies about 22 miles west of the district capital Port Loko, and is separated from Freetown by the Sierra Leone sea...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
. It operated scheduled domestic, regional and international services, but is currently not active.
Code data
- IATAInternational Air Transport AssociationThe 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...
Code: LJ - ICAOInternational Civil Aviation OrganizationThe International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
Code: SLA - Callsign: Selair
History
Sierra Leone Airways was founded as Sierra Leone's national carrier in 1958 when the government withdrew from the regional West African Airways CorporationWest African Airways Corporation
West African Airways Corporation, or WAAC for short, was a 12-year lived airline jointly owned and operated by four West African governments of the British Empire, namely The Gambia, the Gold Coast , Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The carrier was headquartered at the Airways House in Ikeja, Nigeria,...
partnership with Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, and the Gambia. In 1982, the Sierra Leone government entered into a partnership with Alia/Royal Jordanian Airlines
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at Queen Alia International Airport at Amman Jordan. Royal Jordanian is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization...
, and relaunched Sierra Leone Airways as Sierra Leone Airlines . Following the suspension of operations by Sierra Leone Airlines in 1987, services from Freetown were resumed on 1 May 1990 under the current airline name .
In early 2004 the airline experienced some problems with its United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Sales and Reservations structures which were restructured. Scheduled flights between London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
and Lungi International Airport
Lungi International Airport
-Incidents and accidents:On August 11th, 2004 at around 2:30 p.m. a Boeing 737 plane operated by Air Guinee Express crashed while failing to take off at Lungi Airport. None of the 70 passengers aboard were killed....
, Freetown, resumed on 30 November 2004 .
In October 2004 Gold Coast Aviation (PTY) Ltd., a South African based aviation company, who have proposed to take over the operations of the Sierra National Airlines (SNA), have held discussions with President Kabbah
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992...
about their intent to start operation of a new airline in partnership with SNA from 19 November 2004, subject to the approval of the National Commission for Privatisation. They intend to operate a Douglas DC-9 on Freetown - Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
- Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
- 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...
services, and a service between Freetown and 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...
. A Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
would be used on the Freetown-London service, with connections to other cities in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. They also intend later to commence flights to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
with connections through Banjul and 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...
In early 2005 the Sierra Leone Airports Authority claimed that SNA owed them US$800,000 in charges for landing fees, electricity, rent and ground handling services and complained that the refusal to pay the debts is affecting their operations. They won a court case against the airline but the government stopped the process
International Scheduled Destinations
As of January 2005 Sierra National Airlines operated the following services:- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(Gatwick Airport) - AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(Amsterdam Schiphol AirportAmsterdam Schiphol AirportAmsterdam Airport Schiphol ) is the Netherlands' main international airport, located 20 minutes southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The airport's official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order...
) - BanjulBanjul-Transport:Ferries sail from Banjul to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.Banjul International Airport...
(Banjul International AirportBanjul International AirportBanjul International Airport also known as Yundum International is the international airport of Banjul, capital of The Gambia.In 2004, the airport served 967,719 passengers....
) - MonroviaMonroviaMonrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
(Roberts International AirportRoberts International Airport-Accidents and incidents:*On 5 March 1967: Varig flight 837, a Douglas DC-8-33 registration PP-PEA flying from Rome-Fiumicino to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Roberts International Airport, caught fire after a mistaken approach to Monrovia, missing the threshold of the runway by 6,023 ft...
) - ConakryConakryConakry 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...
(Conakry International AirportConakry International AirportConakry International Airport , also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport located in Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. It is divided into domestic and international terminals...
)
External links
- Sierra National Airlines (website does not appear to have been updated since November 2004)
- Sierra National Airlines (new website coming soon)