CEIBA Intercontinental

CEIBA Intercontinental is an airline headquartered in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and based at Malabo International Airport.

CEIBA Intercontinental

IATA ICAO Call sign C2[1] CEL[1] CEIBA LINE[2]
Founded	May 2007[3]
Operating bases	Malabo International Airport
Fleet size	8
Destinations	15 (August 2017)
Headquarters	Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Website	ceibaintercontinentalairlines.com

History

In 2009, the Agence France Press (AFP) reported that the CEO of CEIBA Intercontinental Mamadou Jaye, a Senegalese citizen of Gambian origin, left Equatorial Guinea with a suitcase containing 3.5 billion CFA francs (approximately 5 million euros or 6.5 million United States dollars) and spare ATR aircraft parts to negotiate trade deals with Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, and Senegal and to establish a West African office for CEIBA. The report said that Jaye never returned to Equatorial Guinea.^[4] Jaye denied that he took money from the company and filed a lawsuit against Rodrigo Angwe, the Malabo-based correspondent for Agence France Presse and Radio France Internationale (RFI) who submitted the story. Angwe used an employee as a source; the employee said that he received the information from the internet. After the employee's admission, AFP and RFI retracted the story. Jaye accused Angwe of publishing the internet article himself.^[5]

It continues to operate regional and internal flights.^[6]

In 2022 it was announced the company would be privatised.^[7] In 2024 CEIBA was discussing selling a stake in the company to Ethiopian Airlines after an official expression of interest^[7] CEIBA is one among a number of state businesses due to be sold off under a 2019 IMF deal.^[7]

Malabo to Madrid

In 2012 the airline began operating the route with its own planes. This came after the route had been operating throughout the 90s, 00s, and early 10s, under Spanish airlines such as Spanair.^[8] As of 2013 had direct flights from Malabo to Madrid via a wetlease agreement with White Airways.^[9]

As of 2024, the airline is on the list of air carriers banned in the European Union^[10]

This route continues under a wet-lease agreement with Wamos Air.^[11]

Destinations

Headquarters in Malabo

A CEIBA Intercontinental ATR 42-320 at Bata Airport

CEIBA Intercontinental flies to the following destinations as of October 2023:^[12]

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Benin	Cotonou	Cadjehoun Airport	—
Cameroon	Douala	Douala International Airport	Terminated	[13]
Equatorial Guinea	Bata	Bata Airport	—
	Malabo	Malabo International Airport	Hub	[1]
	Mengomeyén	President Obiang Nguema International Airport	—
	San Antonio de Palé	Annobón Airport	Terminated	[citation needed]
Gabon	Libreville	Libreville International Airport	Terminated	[13]
Ghana	Accra	Kotoka International Airport	Terminated	[13]
Ivory Coast	Abidjan	Port Bouet Airport	Terminated	[13]
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	Maya-Maya Airport	Terminated	[13]
	Pointe-Noire	Pointe Noire Airport	Terminated	[citation needed]
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	São Tomé International Airport	Terminated	[citation needed]
Senegal	Dakar	Blaise Diagne International Airport	Terminated	[citation needed]
Spain	Madrid	Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport	Terminated	[13]
Togo	Lomé	Lomé–Tokoin International Airport	—

Fleet

As of August 2018, CEIBA Intercontinental operated the following aircraft:^[14]

CEIBA Intercontinental fleet

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Passengers				Notes
F	J	Y	Total
ATR 42-300F	1	—	—	—	—	Cargo
ATR 42-500	1	—	–	–	48	48[15]
ATR 72-500	2	—	–	–	68	68[16]
Boeing 737-800	2	—	–	12	124	146[17]
Boeing 767-300ER	1	—
Boeing 777-200LR	1	—	22	28	200	250[18]	operated by White Airways
Total	8	—

Accidents and incidents

CEIBA Intercontinental had two notable aviation accidents involving Boeing 737s:

• 5 September 2015 – a Boeing 737-800, operating as Flight 071 from Dakar to Cotonou, collided with a HS-125 air ambulance flying from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Dakar, Senegal. The Boeing 737 diverted to Malabo where it landed safely. The air ambulance apparently suffered a decompression incident and is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. ^[19]
• 29 August 2024 – the same as aircraft as above, now registered in Ethiopia as ET-AWR, was operating as Flight 205, from Bata Airport, Equatorial Guinea to Malabo, overran the runway after landing in heavy rain. The aircraft was substantially damaged, but all passengers and crew were evacuated via the emergency slides injury-free.^[20][21]