Air Sierra Leone (Freetown) (ASL) is poised to launch with 3x weekly frequencies between Freetown and Lagos on January 22, using the air operator's certificate (AOC) of parent Xejet (4U, Lagos) and a single 50-seater E145 seconded from the Nigerian company.

This was confirmed to ch-aviation by Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) Director-General Musayeroh Barrie, who said Xejet would be providing three aircraft to ASL, 5N-BZZ (14500855) being the first to be cleared by the regulator.

As previously reported, 5N-BZZ underwent maintenance at Mbombela and was repainted in ASL livery at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, from which it was ferried to Lagos on November 20. It is dry-leased from Regional One. Xejet has a further two E145s - one owned and one leased from ACIA Aero, with one more of the type due for delivery, according to the ch-aviation fleets module.

ASL is Sierra Leone's new privately owned flag carrier, operating as a locally registered subsidiary of its Nigerian parent. Regional flights will operate on Xejet's AOC while the startup undergoes its own certification process with the SLCAA.

Barrie told ch-aviation that ASL had reached phase three of five in its AOC process. "We hope to be completed by the end of February 2025," she said. Phase three is the document evaluation phase, to be followed by the demonstration flight and inspection phase, and certification.

Initial plans were for ASL to launch services between Freetown and London Gatwick on December 2 with an B737-8 chartered from Ascend Airways (YD, London Gatwick) ahead of its certification with the SLCAA. However, by mid-December, the startup was still working through various regulatory approvals needed to operate and sell tickets on the UK route.

Sierra Leone-flagged carriers are banned from operating under their own AOCs to the UK and European Union. However, the SLCAA aims to use ASL's certification as a test case to demonstrate its safety standards and competence, with the goal of having the country removed from the UK and EU's air safety blacklist.