Gambia Bird
| |||||||
Commenced operations | 22 October 2012 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceased operations | 2014 | ||||||
Hubs | Banjul International Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
Destinations | 9 | ||||||
Parent company | Germania | ||||||
Headquarters | Kanifing, The Gambia | ||||||
Key people | Thomas Wazinski, CEO[1] | ||||||
Website |
www |
Gambia Bird Airlines Limited was the flag carrier airline of Gambia[2] headquartered in Kanifing[3] with its home base at Banjul International Airport. It suspended operations in December 2014 .
History
Gambia Bird was founded by the German carrier Germania in October 2012.[4] The airline was launched in partnership with the Government of Gambia in order to replace the services of Air Afrique, which was liquidated in 2002.[5] Germania retained a 90% ownership share pf Gambia Bird.[4]
The carrier started operations on 22 October 2012 with an Airbus A319-100 leased from Germania that flew between Banjul and Dakar.[6] Accra, Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia were added to the route network shortly afterwards;[2] on 24 October 2012 , Gambia Bird operated its first service to London Gatwick.[7] Flights to Barcelona were introduced on 28 October.[8] A second A319 joined the fleet in November 2012 .[9]
In December 2014 , Gambia Bird suspended operations until further notice.[10][11][12] By May 2015, there had not been any resumption of services. The former aircraft of Gambia Bird are currently back in service with its parent, Germania.[13] In March 2015, Germania's CEO already stated that a resumption of services by Gambia Bird seems unlikely due to an insufficient perspective for the future development.[14]
Destinations
Gambia Bird served the following destinations, as of June 2014:
Country | City | Airport | Start | End | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cameroon | Douala | Douala International Airport | Unknown | Unknown | [15] |
Gambia | Banjul | Banjul International Airport Hub | N/A | December 2014 | [15] |
Ghana | Accra | Kotoka International Airport | 2012 | December 2014 | [15] |
Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | Osvaldo Vieira International Airport | Unknown | December 2014 | [15] |
Guinea | Conakry | Conakry International Airport | Unknown | Unknown | [15] |
Liberia | Monrovia | Roberts International Airport | 2012 | December 2014 | [15] |
Nigeria | Lagos | Murtala Muhammed International Airport | Unknown | December 2014 | [15] |
Senegal | Dakar | Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport | 22 October 2012 | December 2014 | [6][15] |
Sierra Leone | Freetown | Lungi International Airport | 2012 | December 2014 | [15] |
Spain | Barcelona | Barcelona Airport | 28 October 2012 | December 2014 | [8][15] |
United Kingdom | London | Gatwick Airport | 24 October 2012 | December 2014 | [7][15] |
Fleet
As of December 2014, the Gambia Bird fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[16]
Aircraft | In Fleet | Passengers | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Airbus A319-100 | 2 | 144 | Leased from Germania |
See also
References
- ↑ Paylor, Anne (16 October 2014). "Gambia Bird's Freetown-London permit revoked due to Ebola fears". Air Transport World. Archived 17 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 Ruvers, Martin (12 December 2012). "ANALYSIS: Gambia Bird pins hopes on Nigerian progress". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
- ↑ "Contact Us." Gambia Bird. Retrieved on 7 May 2013. "Headoffice Gambia Bird House 38 Kairaba Avenue Kanifing, Municipality The Gambia"
- 1 2 "Germania expandiert nach Afrika" [Germania expands into Africa]. Airliners.de. 7 May 2012.
- ↑ "Gambia Bird, Germania subsidiary, is poised to take advantage of Western African economic growth". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 11 September 2013. Archived 13 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 Rivers, Martin (22 October 2012). "Gambia Bird launches operations with wet-leased A319". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
- 1 2 Rivers, Martin (25 October 2012). "Gambia Bird touches down at London Gatwick". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
- 1 2 Blanco, Isabelle (28 October 2012). "Gambia Bird à Londres et Barcelone" [Gambia Bird to London and Barcelona]. Air Journal (in French). Archived from the original on 30 May 2013.
- ↑ Rivers, Martin (11 December 2012). "Gambia Bird takes delivery of second A319". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
- ↑ Thisdell, Dan (13 February 2015). "Flights cancelled: Top 12 recent airline collapses". London: Flightglobal.
Up-and-coming Africa was not without casualties in 2014. As the year closed, Gambia Bird closed, too – at least until further notice. The airline didn’t give a specific reason for the decision – or indicated when it hopes to resume flights – but the announcement coincided with indications of unrest in Banjul, the country's capital.
Archived 13 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. - ↑ Moores, Victoria (31 December 2014). "West Africa's Gambia Bird suspends flights". Air Transport World. Archived 31 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Suspension of commercial flight operations" (PDF) (Press release). Gambia Bird. 30 December 2014. Archived 13 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-a319-4663.htm
- ↑ http://www.airliners.de/pay-to-fly-germania-quatsch-balke/35095
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Schedule (Effective 2 June–25 October 2014)" (PDF). Gambia Bird. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2014.
- ↑ "Fleet". Gambia Bird. Archived 13 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
External links
Media related to Gambia Bird at Wikimedia Commons