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Open Skies for Africa
Development in Central Africa The Central African region consists of two distinct main groups with quite different characteristics. On the one hand are the CEMAC countries and on the other are the Democratic Republic of Congo and the small island state of São Tomé and Principe. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest and most populated country of the region. It accounts for about half the region’s fleet and seat capacity, although the numbers fluctuate somewhat erratically. This may attributed to successive periods of relative peace and internal fighting, but may also be a result of a lack of appropriate reporting. The country experienced a sharp drop in the number of operators, aircraft, and seats from 1997 to 2001 (table 5.12), which probably reflects the crisis experienced following the fall and death of its long-time leader President Sese Seko Mobutu. However, a strong upturn followed from 2 carriers in 2001 to 12 carriers in 2004 with 25 aircraft and 2,871 seats. The situation then stabilized, with some consolidation of the industry resulting in a reduction to nine carriers. However, most of the country’s fleet consists of old aircraft models. In addition to its passenger fleet, the Democratic Republic of Congo also has a large number of freight carriers. One of the major carriers, Hewa Bora Airways, seemed to be becoming an international carrier of some standing serving routes to Johannesburg and Brussels, but blacklisting by the EU and a recent accident suspended its plans (European Commission 2007b). São Tomé and Principe has two airlines operating aircraft with fewer than 30 seats. Its registry also includes several flag of convenience listings, including a large fleet of B-727 and L-100 freighters (not shown in table 5.12) that are owned by a carrier based in Angola. Of the CEMAC countries, both Cameroon and Gabon are special cases. The two countries withdrew from Air Afrique in the early 1970s to set up their own flag carriers in the belief that their traffic potential would be able to sustain their operations (Kofele-Kale 1981, p. 202). Both Cameroon Airlines and Air Gabon were initially successful operators, but experienced serious financial and operational problems in the late 1990s that led to the collapse of both carriers. (Note that the figures for Cameroon shown in table 5.12 for 2007 were collected before Cameroon Airlines finally went out of business.) The disappearance of these carriers resulted in the progressive phasing out of wide-body aircraft in the region. What remained was a few niche carriers operating local routes with smaller aircraft.