The Cameroon Airlines Corporation, trading as Camair-Co, is an airline from Cameroon, serving as

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

of the country, a role which was previously filled by the now-defunct Cameroon Airlines. Camair-Co has its headquarters in the Immeuble La Rotonde in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

, and operates out of

Douala International Airport MD-Douala International Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport international MD-Douala) is an international airport located in Douala, the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. With its 4 terminals and an averag ...

. The airline has never made a profit, and is struggling under the weight of its debts; most of its aircraft are currently grounded. The company slogan is french: L’étoile du Cameroun, ''The Star of Cameroon.''

History

Camair-co was created on 11 September 2006 by decree of

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

, the

President of Cameroon The president of Cameroon is the executive head of state and de facto head of government of Cameroon and is the commander in chief of the Cameroon Armed Forces. The authority of the State is exercised both by the President and by the Parliament. ...

, as a company aimed at replacing Cameroon Airlines, the country's national airline at that time. The IATA code ''QC'' previously belonged to

Air Corridor In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways: "VOR Federal airways and Low/Medium Frequency (L/MF) (Colored) Federal airways" These are designated routes which aeroplanes ...

, which has since ceased operations. Cameroon Airlines was shut down in June 2008, but it took until 2011 for Camair-Co to launch flight services. The inaugural flight from

to Paris via

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

took place on 28 March. On 30 September 2016 the airline ceased services to Paris as part of a network restructuring exercise. Lossmaking since its launch in 2011, the Camair-Co reportedly had debts about 35 billion

Central African CFA franc The Central African CFA franc (French: ''franc CFA'' or simply ''franc''; ISO code: XAF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatori ...

, and the Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) had ordered the company to pay its arrears of royalties amounting to 100,390 million FCFA, under suspension of air navigation services. Camair-Co was the subject of a recovery plan proposed by the US firm Boeing Consulting in 2016, which included settlement of the outstanding debt, the injection of FCFA 60 billion, resizing of the network and the modernisation of the fleet, but the plan has not been implemented.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

Camair-Co, with a capital of 100 million CFA francs, was created by Presidential Decree No. 2006/293 of 11 September 2006 with the State of Cameroon as the sole shareholder.

Business trends

Camair-Co has been loss-making since its creation. Financial and other trends for Camair-Co (for years ending 31 December) are:

Destinations

As of March 2018, Camair-Co offers scheduled flights to the following destinations:

Fleet

Camair Co Boeing 737-700 TJ-QCB CDG 2014-05-17

The Camair-Co fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019): As of January 2022, the two B737-700s, registration TJ-QCA and TJ-QCB are parked outside the Ethiopian Airlines maintenance facilities at Bole International Airport, Addis Abbeba, Ethiopia. The B767-300 is parked at the apron, and is missing the right engine. The airline is also operating at least one Embraer 145, registration TJ-KMM, which apparently belongs to Cronos Airlines of Equatorial Guinea.

References

External links

* {{IATA members, africa Airlines of Cameroon Airlines established in 2006 2006 establishments in Africa Companies based in Douala