Safair is an airline based at the

O.R. Tambo International Airport O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and since 2020, ...

in Kempton Park,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft.''Flight International'' 2010 World Airliner census
Retrieved 27 August 2010

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

12–18 April 2005

History

Safair Operations as it is known today was established in 1965. At the time it was known as Tropair (Pty) Ltd and was a general aviation charter company. In 1970 the company name changed to Safair Freighters (Pty) Ltd when the company was purchased by

Safmarine Safmarine, short for South African Marine Container Lines N.V.'','' is a South African international shipping entity and former company offering container and break-bulk shipping services worldwide. It is now owned by its parent company Maersk L ...

and the new entity began operations on 18 March 1970. Its primary client in the 1980s was the South African Defence Force. Safair is wholly owned by

ASL Aviation ASL Airlines Ireland (ASLI), formerly Air Contractors, is a cargo airline with an extensive operations network. It operates scheduled freight services throughout Europe on behalf of major parcel integrators such as Amazon, FedEx Feeder and DHL ...

Group Ltd based in Dublin, Ireland, a subsidiary of the Belgian group Compagnie Maritime Belge. Humanitarian Aid and Relief operations has always been Safair's "niche" market. Safair assists aid and relief agencies such as the United Nations, World Food Programme, and the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

in delivering much needed humanitarian aid to stricken regions on the African continent as well as other areas in the world where such assistance is required. Until 2018 Safair was contracted to the Italian Antarctic Program (

National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) National Antarctic Research Program (''Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide'' or PNRA) is the Italian Antarctic research program. The PNRA is directed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) through two national bodies: ...

) to support science over the austral summer, flying Lockheed L-100-30 missions from Christchurch, New Zealand to Zucchelli Station in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. In 2007, Safair obtained its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) approval.

Fleet

the Safair fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Previously operated

* ATR 72 *

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With c ...

D *

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

-320 *

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

-100 *

-200 *

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

-200 *

British Aerospace 146 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...

-100QT * British Aerospace 146-200QC * CASA CN-235 * Convair 580 * Lockheed L-100-20 Hercules *

McDonnell Douglas MD-81 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

Partenavia P.68 The Partenavia P.68, now Vulcanair P68, is a light aircraft designed by Luigi Pascale and initially built by Italian Partenavia. It made its first flight on 25 May 1970, its type certification was granted on 17 November 1971 and was transferred ...

B * Partenavia AP.68TP-600 Viator

FlySafair

In 2013, Safair created a

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

subsidiary called FlySafair. The initial plan to operate flights in October 2013 had to be cancelled, as a result of a High Court application by Comair. FlySafair is currently operational with the first flight having taken place on 16 October 2014. FlySafair operates passenger flights between Cape Town, George, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Lanseria, Durban and East London.

References

External links

Official website
{{IATA members, africa Airlines of South Africa Airlines established in 1965 Charter airlines Cargo airlines of South Africa Companies based in Ekurhuleni Kempton Park, Gauteng 1965 establishments in South Africa