Gambia Bird
IATA ICAO Callsign
3G GBQ GAMBIA BIRD
Commenced operations22 October 2012 (2012-10-22)
Ceased operations2014
HubsBanjul International Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations9
Parent companyGermania
HeadquartersKanifing, The Gambia
Key peopleThomas Wazinski, CEO[1]
Websitewww.gambiabird.com

Gambia Bird Airlines Limited was the flag carrier airline of Gambia[2] headquartered in Kanifing[3] with its home base at Banjul International Airport. It suspended operations in December 2014.

History

Gambia Bird was founded by the German carrier Germania in October 2012.[4] The airline was launched in partnership with the Government of Gambia in order to replace the services of Air Afrique, which was liquidated in 2002.[5] Germania retained a 90% ownership share of Gambia Bird.[4]

The carrier started operations on 22 October 2012 with an Airbus A319-100 leased from Germania that flew between Banjul and Dakar.[6] Accra, Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia were added to the route network shortly afterwards;[2] on 24 October 2012, Gambia Bird operated its first service to London Gatwick.[7] Flights to Barcelona were introduced on 28 October.[8] A second A319 joined the fleet in November 2012.[9]

In December 2014, Gambia Bird suspended operations until further notice.[10][11][12] By May 2015, there had not been any resumption of services. The former aircraft of Gambia Bird were taken back into service with its parent, Germania.[13] In March 2015, Germania's CEO stated that a resumption of services by Gambia Bird was unlikely, due to an insufficient perspective for future development.[14]

Destinations

Gambia Bird served the following destinations, as of June 2014:

Country City Airport Start End Refs
CameroonDoualaDouala International AirportUn­knownUn­known[15]
GambiaBanjulBanjul International Airport Hub—December 2014[15]
GhanaAccraKotoka International Airport2012December 2014[15]
Guinea-BissauBissauOsvaldo Vieira International AirportUn­knownDecember 2014[15]
GuineaConakryConakry International AirportUn­knownUn­known[15]
LiberiaMonroviaRoberts International Airport2012December 2014[15]
NigeriaLagosMurtala Muhammed International AirportUn­knownDecember 2014[15]
SenegalDakarLéopold Sédar Senghor International Airport22 October 2012December 2014[6][15]
Sierra LeoneFreetownLungi International Airport2012December 2014[15]
SpainBarcelonaBarcelona Airport28 October 2012December 2014[8][15]
United KingdomLondonGatwick Airport24 October 2012December 2014[7][15]

Fleet

Gambia Bird Airbus A319-100

As of December 2014, the Gambia Bird fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[16]

Gambia Bird Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 2 144 Leased from Germania

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paylor, Anne (16 October 2014). "Gambia Bird's Freetown-London permit revoked due to Ebola fears". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. 
  2. 1 2 Ruvers, Martin (12 December 2012). "ANALYSIS: Gambia Bird pins hopes on Nigerian progress". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Contact Us Archived 3 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Gambia Bird. Retrieved on 7 May 2013. "Headoffice Gambia Bird House 38 Kairaba Avenue Kanifing, Municipality The Gambia"
  4. 1 2 "Germania expandiert nach Afrika" [Germania expands into Africa]. Airliners.de. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Gambia Bird, Germania subsidiary, is poised to take advantage of Western African economic growth". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 July 2016. 
  6. 1 2 Rivers, Martin (22 October 2012). "Gambia Bird launches operations with wet-leased A319". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
  7. 1 2 Rivers, Martin (25 October 2012). "Gambia Bird touches down at London Gatwick". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
  8. 1 2 Blanco, Isabelle (28 October 2012). "Gambia Bird à Londres et Barcelone" [Gambia Bird to London and Barcelona]. Air Journal (in French). Archived from the original on 30 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Rivers, Martin (11 December 2012). "Gambia Bird takes delivery of second A319". Flightglobal. London. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014.
  10. ↑ Thisdell, Dan (13 February 2015). "Flights cancelled: Top 12 recent airline collapses". London: Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Up-and-coming Africa was not without casualties in 2014. As the year closed, Gambia Bird closed, too – at least until further notice. The airline didn't give a specific reason for the decision – or indicated when it hopes to resume flights – but the announcement coincided with indications of unrest in Banjul, the country's capital. 
  11. ↑ Moores, Victoria (31 December 2014). "West Africa's Gambia Bird suspends flights". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. 
  12. ↑ "Suspension of commercial flight operations" (PDF) (Press release). Gambia Bird. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. 
  13. ↑ "Germania D-ASTA (Airbus A319 - MSN 4663) | Airfleets aviation". www.airfleets.net. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  14. ↑ ""Pay to fly" bei der Germania? "Das ist Quatsch"". airliners.de (in German). Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Schedule (Effective 2 June–25 October 2014)" (PDF). Gambia Bird. 1 June 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Fleet". Gambia Bird. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. 

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