Congo Airways (8Z, Kinshasa N'Djili) has officially been launched by the Congo's Transport ministry at a ceremony held in the capital, Kinshasa, last week. In his address, Minister of Transport, Justin Kalumba, said Congo Airways would be distinct from LAC - Lignes Aériennes Congolaises (Kinshasa N'Djili), which is currently undergoing liquidation.
Although he did not disclose any operational or fleeting plans, Kalumba said the carrier would operate "the latest generation aircraft" beginning with domestic routes, followed by regional routes and lastly international routes. In order to ensure the airline's success, Kalumba said a phased approach to flights would be sought.
In terms of its shareholding, the minister said shares in the carrier would be split between government and Congolese citizens, airline employees and a technical partner which specializes in civil aviation.
Previous reports had pointed to Kinshasa sussing out potential partners in the form of Air France (AF, Paris CDG), Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International), Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) and Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) though no definitive confirmation has ever been issued.
Since independence from Belgium in 1960, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has limped from the kleptocratic dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko to the slightly less kleptocratic regimes of Laurent and son, Joseph Kabila. The associated lack of investment in the country's internal road and rail network has resulted in a plethora of airlines sprouting up to service demand for internal travel.
However, a lack of regulatory oversight and adequate aeronautical infrastructure has rendered the Central African country one of the world's most dangerous operating environments. To overcome this, government has reiterated the need for a sound, safety-oriented national carrier capable of serving all corners of the country and the populace in general.
Kinshasa recently embarked on an IATA-backed recertification exercise of the country's numerous airlines resulting in several of them being grounded.
