Air Centrafrique

Air Centrafrique was the flag carrier of the Central African Republic from 1966 to the late 1970s. The company operated domestic services. It had its headquarters in Bangui.^[2]

Air Centrafrique

Founded	1966 (1966)
Commenced operations	1967 (1967)
Ceased operations	1979[1]
Headquarters	Bangui, Central African Republic

History

An Air Centrafrique Sud Aviation Caravelle at Le Bourget Airport in 1972.

The carrier was formed as Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui in 1966 in association with Air Afrique and Union de Transports Aériens (UTA),^[3][4] with the latter providing management and technical assistance.^[5] It was conceived to provide feeder services to Air Afrique.^[5] Operations started in early 1967, linking Bangui with Berberati^{[nb 1]} using Douglas DC-3 aircraft.^[3][4] In July 1967 (1967-07), a Beech 95 Baron was acquired for flying new routes to Bakouma and Bangassou.^[5]

One DC-3 and one Beech Baron made up the airline's aircraft lineup at March 1970 (1970-03).^[7] Gaining flag carrier status, the company was renamed Air Centrafrique in mid-1971 following reorganisation after the government attempted to withdraw from the Air Afrique consortium earlier that year.^[8]

The launching of Air Centrafrique as an independent airline was one of the moves of the proclaimed Emperor Bokassa I that indebted the country, to the point that banks began to refuse loans to the state in the same year.^[9] Following the rupture with Air Afrique, agreements were signed with Zaire, Congo and Chad for Air Centrafrique to fly to those destinations.^[10] On 1973-2-13, Bokassa issued a decree suspending operations of Air Centrafrique, due to a conflict with French navigation staff.^[11]

By March 1975 (1975-03), passenger scheduled services to Bangui, Bambari, Bangassou, Birao, Bouar, Bria, Carnot, M'Boki, Ouadda and Zemio were operated; seasonal flights were also undertaken during the safari hunting period.^[12] A Caravelle 3 entered the fleet in the late 1970s.^{[5][nb 2]}

The airline ceased operations between 1978 and 1979.^{[nb 3]} The collapse of Air Centrafrique, along with other debacles of the Bokassa legacy, contributed to undermining the prestige of the Central African Republic internationally.^[14]

Destinations

Following is a list of destinations served by Air Centrafrique all through its history:

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Central African Republic	Bakouma	Bakouma Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Bambari	Bambari Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Bangassou	Bangassou Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Bangui	Bangui M'Poko International Airport	Hub	[12]
Central African Republic	Batangafo	Batangafo Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Birao	Birao Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Bossembele	Bossembélé Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Bouar	Bouar Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Bouca	Bouca Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Bria	Bria Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Carnot	Carnot Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Koumbala	Koumala Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Ndele	N'Délé Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Obo	M'Boki Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Ouadda	Ouadda Airport	—	[12]
Central African Republic	Rafai	Rafaï Airport	—	[8]
Central African Republic	Zemio	Zemio Airport	—	[12]

Fleet

Air Centrafrique operated the following aircraft throughout its history:

• Beech Baron^[12]
• Douglas DC-3^[12]
• Douglas DC-4^[15]
• DC-8-55^[8]
• Sud Aviation Caravelle III^[8]

See also

• List of defunct airlines of the Central African Republic
• Transport in the Central African Republic

Notes

1. It was also informed that the first services flown by the company linked Bangui with Birao.^[6]
2. An aircraft of the type was included in the airline's fleet in 1972.^[8]
3. Air Centrafrique appeared in the World airline directory compilation published by Flight International in April 1978 (1978-04),^[2] but the entry was removed from that directory in April 1979 (1979-04).^[13] It is assumed that the carrier ceased operations at some time within that period.

References

1. "Air Centrafrique". Airline History. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
2. "World airline directory – Air Centrafrique". Flight International. 113 (3605): 1127. 22 April 1978. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
3. "World airline survey – Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui". Flight International. 95 (3135): 568. 10 April 1969. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
4. "World airline survey – Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui". Flight International. 93 (3083): 529. 11 April 1968. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
5. Guttery (1998), p. 33.
6. "World airline survey – Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui". Flight International. 91 (3031): 565. 13 April 1967. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
7. "World airlines 1970 – Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui". Flight International. 97 (3184): 478. 26 March 1970. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
8. "World airlines – Air Centrafrique". Flight International. 101 (3296): 8. 18 May 1972. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
9. Titley, E. Brian. Dark Age: The Political Odyssey of Emperor Bokassa. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University press, 2002. p. 69
10. Červenka, Zdenek. Land-Locked Countries of Africa. Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1973. p. 151
11. Année africaine. Éditions A. Pedone., 1974. p. 410
12. "World airline directory – Air Centrafrique". Flight International. 108 (3445): 465. 20 March 1975. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014.
13. "World airline directory – Air Burundi to Air Charter". Flight International. 115 (3658): 1333. 28 April 1979. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013.
14. Decalo, Samuel (1998). Psychoses of power: African personal dictatorships. Gainesville, Fla: Florida Academic Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-1-890357-02-3.
15. "World airline directory – Air Centrafrique". Flight International. 111 (3552): 926. 9 April 1977. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.

Bibliography

• Guttery, Ben R. (1998). Encyclopedia of African Airlines. Jefferson, North Carolina: Mc Farland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0495-7.