AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti has relaunched its national airline.
Air Djibouti, which went bankrupt in 2002, recommenced flights in August 2015 with a cargo plane carrying 6 metric tons from Djibouti to Somalia.
“This is the link in the chain that was missing from Djibouti,” said Abubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, who said he hoped the airline will help ferry cargo onward from Djibouti’s key seaport. “We need a national company to ensure our ambitions.”
The airline is backed by British company Cardiff Aviation, whose chairman is Bruce Dickinson, a Boeing 757 and 737 pilot and instructor, and who also is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal rock band Iron Maiden.
He used to pilot the British band’s plane during their world tours. Dickinson’s company, based in Cardiff in Wales, signed a deal in May 2015 to provide airline support to the carrier, including management, maintenance and staff training.
Dickinson said, “Djibouti is uniquely placed to provide a hub for investment from Europe, the Middle East and Asia into Africa.” He said his company would “bring a wealth of industry expertise and capability to one of the most exciting aviation markets in the world.”
Djibouti, which hosts several foreign military bases, aims to become a regional hub for air cargo transport, to forward sea cargo arriving in its port.
Cardiff Aviation said Air Djibouti had asked for support in developing its key markets, which it said were “based on the needs of landlocked neighboring countries, governmental aid programs around Africa, the support of military installations currently based in Djibouti, and the need to deliver passengers to major international business hubs.”
The port is in a key position on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, the gateway to the Suez Canal, and offers an African base across from the Arabian Peninsula at the crossroads for cargo traffic between Asia and Europe.
With only one aircraft, the company was due to take delivery of five aircraft before the end of 2015, including a Boeing 767, 737 and 757.
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