Camair-Co: € 23 million made available for the maintenance of two B737 and the rental of two Q400
Are we on the way to relaunching Camair-Co's activities, grounded for lack of planes? One could answer in the affirmative, on reading the letter dated July 14, addressed to the Prime Minister's services by the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic.
"I have the honor to let you know that the President of the Republic has expressed his high agreement for the implementation of the measures proposed by the PM / CG and the MINT (Ministry of Transport, editor's note) concerning the relaunch of Camair-Co in the very short and medium terms… ”writes Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.
To date, Cameroon’s national airline, in deficit and heavily in debt, does not have any plane in flight condition. Its two MA60s, previously deployed on the domestic market, require maintenance; Its only Bombardier Dash 8 is the subject of a unilateral breach of contract by its lessor, Abu Dhabi Aviation, which is claiming millions of unpaid leases; Its two 737-700s, grounded since February 2019, are desperate to be transported to Ethiopia for heavy maintenance. It is in fact in the workshops of Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa that the Boeing 767-300, the only long-haul aircraft of the company has been "abandoned" since January 12, 2018.
Faced with this situation and because of the financial difficulties of Camair-Co aggravated by the Covid-19 crisis, the Secretary General ordered "to immediately allocate the 15 billion FCFA (23 million euros) previously granted by the Head of State in the following manner: Sending for maintenance one of the Boeing 737-700 NG; the acquisition of two Dash Bombardier Q400 aircraft better suited to short-haul routes; the rental of two engines capable of returning the second Boeing 737-700NG to flight. "
In the same letter, he transmitted the instructions of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, who asks for the development of the privatization plan of Camair-Co, a carrier which has a debt of more than 110 billion FCFA (168 million euros) and whose staff have nearly five months of salary arrears.
"I have the honor to let you know that the President of the Republic has expressed his high agreement for the implementation of the measures proposed by the PM / CG and the MINT (Ministry of Transport, editor's note) concerning the relaunch of Camair-Co in the very short and medium terms… ”writes Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.
To date, Cameroon’s national airline, in deficit and heavily in debt, does not have any plane in flight condition. Its two MA60s, previously deployed on the domestic market, require maintenance; Its only Bombardier Dash 8 is the subject of a unilateral breach of contract by its lessor, Abu Dhabi Aviation, which is claiming millions of unpaid leases; Its two 737-700s, grounded since February 2019, are desperate to be transported to Ethiopia for heavy maintenance. It is in fact in the workshops of Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa that the Boeing 767-300, the only long-haul aircraft of the company has been "abandoned" since January 12, 2018.
Faced with this situation and because of the financial difficulties of Camair-Co aggravated by the Covid-19 crisis, the Secretary General ordered "to immediately allocate the 15 billion FCFA (23 million euros) previously granted by the Head of State in the following manner: Sending for maintenance one of the Boeing 737-700 NG; the acquisition of two Dash Bombardier Q400 aircraft better suited to short-haul routes; the rental of two engines capable of returning the second Boeing 737-700NG to flight. "
In the same letter, he transmitted the instructions of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, who asks for the development of the privatization plan of Camair-Co, a carrier which has a debt of more than 110 billion FCFA (168 million euros) and whose staff have nearly five months of salary arrears.
Source: newsaero
