Gabon Airlines (Libreville Leon M'Ba) is officially in liquidation after a Libreville court issued a directive to dispose of the defunct carrier's assets, the Gabonese Review has reported. As the official successor to Air Gabon (Libreville Leon M'Ba) and its still-borne Royal Air Maroc-aligned successor, Air Gabon International (Libreville Leon M'Ba), Gabon Airlines was founded in 2007 by private investors, banks and insurers with its CEO Christian Bongo Ondimba, a son of former Gabonese strongman Omar Bongo. Initial operations between Libreville Leon M'Ba and Paris CDG took place on 11 April 2007 using a B767-200(ER) and an A340-300, CS-TQM (c/n 117) on lease from Hi Fly (5K, Beja). However, difficulties were soon encountered with the airline posting significant losses over the following four years. Flights ceased in 2011 while in 2012, the carrier lost its Air Operators Certificate. Among the assets that have since been disposed of include the 767-200(ER), TR-LHP (msn 21877), which had been grounded in Addis Ababa International since 2007 over an unpaid debt to Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International). Following numerous warnings, the Ethiopians are understood to have sold off the jet to recuperate their losses.
Gabon Airlines assets being liquidated
© Tis Meyer (PlanePics.org)