By Omar Bah
Fly Mid Africa, a new Airline commissioned in Banjul recently will commence its maiden commercial flight operations out of the Banjul International Airport on the 15th May.
The airline which is owned by Sudanese investors will initially serve seven West African destinations; Monrovia, Dakar, Freetown, Accra, Lagos Conakry and Praia, utilizing a Boeing 737 Classic aircraft.
Speaking to journalists recently at the Fly Mid Africa Headquarters in Brusubi, the company’s MD Bakary Nyassi said their shareholder’s decision to venture into commercial flight operations is premised on the desire to alleviate the suffering of travellers within West Africa, especially within Anglophone countries.
“Having concluded all operational and commercial arrangements for flight operations, Fly Mid Africa is poised to launch its maiden flight on the 15th May with services from Banjul, Freetown, Accra and Lagos, and for our customers going to Dakar, we will have daily flights to Senegal,” he said
He continued: “Our services will be operated with two Boeing 737-Classic aircraft; B737-300 (8 Business Class and 124 Economy Class seats) and B737-400 (16 Business Class and 116 Economy Class seats).”
Mr Nyassi disclosed that on Tuesday 25th April Fly Mid Africa approved a cutover with its global distribution partners SITA and AMADEUS to download the airline’s products in the Global Distribution System (GDS).
“In addition to operating air services in the target routes, Fly Mid Africa is committed to providing safe, reliable and efficient air transport services to spur economic development and foster regional integration through the promotion of trade and regional tourism,” Nyassi said.
He said the company was primarily operating in the country as an aviation assets management company, engaged in pre-financing aviation equipment purchases, leasing aviation equipment to third parties and lease purchases.
“As a new market entrant, like most start-up business ventures, we anticipate teething challenges to rise. Thus, our valued customers are urged to excise patience and enjoy our diverse team of professionals develop “THE” airline of West Africa,” he added.
Mr Nyassi said operations into Liberia will start in August when the works at Robertsfield International Airport is completed. He concluded that air tickets are currently sold at their partner travel agencies in target markets in The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria.
