Newly relaunched Air Djibouti plans more cargo flights next week
12 / 08 / 2015
New market entrant Air Djibouti is planning more cargo flights next week following the launch of services at the start of the month.
The government owned national carrier flew its first cargo service on August 2 when a leased Fokker 27 aircraft flew from Djibouti to Hargeisa in Somaliland.
Asked whether the flight would be turned into a regular service, a spokesperson for the airline told Air Cargo News that it would look into cargo demand to Hargeisa and plan accordingly.
The spokesperson added that more flights were planned next to the Somali capital Mogadishu and to carry aid cargo to Yemen.
The airline will launch passenger services in November when it takes delivery of five aircraft, including Boeing 767, 737 and 757.
Services are planned to Paris, London, Dubai and Mumbai.
The east African Republic of Djibouti’s new national carrier is being established by the government of Djibouti to support the development of the country as a regional hub for commercial and logistics services.
Famously, Cardiff Aviation, which has rock band Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson as chairman, will implement and manage a European-level AOC for Air Djibouti, source aircraft, and provide operational, MRO and management support.
The airline is being launched as part of the government’s Djibouti’s Vision 2035 plan, which supports the development of the country as a regional hub for commercial and logistics services.
The airline will operate internationally, connecting Djibouti and the $1trn market of east Africa.
In parallel to the launch of Air Djibouti, the country, located on the horn of Africa with a population of just over 800,000, is also constructing two new airports; the Hassan Gouled Aptidon International Airport and Ahmed Dini Ahmed International Airport, which will cater for 100,000 tons of cargo.
The government hopes to combine the two new airports with four new sea ports to create a complete sea-air cargo network. Djibouti’s current transport and logistics infrastructure programme exceeds $14bn.
