By John Ikani
Plans are being perfected for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to set up a new national aviation company called “Air Congo in the coming days.”
According to a statement issued by DRC’s Ministry of Transport on Sunday, the new airline “will have to be born in the coming days in the DRC with quality aircraft,” thanks to a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines.
It went on to note that the upcoming acquisition of these aircrafts is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in September 2021 in Addis Ababa between the DRC and Ethiopian Airlines, a joint venture in which the DRC would hold 51 percent of the shares against 49 percent for the Ethiopian company.
“The opening up of the national territory is the essential basis for economic and social development, in particular through the upgrading of air transport in optimal conditions of safety and security. It is in this context that I place my partnership strategy with Ethiopian Airlines,” Cherubin Okende Senga said in September in Addis Ababa.
Congo Airways, now with a fleet of four aircraft, currently serves as DRC’s main public airline and is DRC’s state-owned flag carrier airline.
With a paid-up capital of 90 million dollars, it started operations in October 2015, using two Airbus A320 aircraft acquired from Alitalia.
It offers regional flights to Johannesburg, Douala and Cotonou.
