Air Centrafrique was the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

from 1966 to the late 1970s. The company operated domestic services. It had its headquarters in

Bangui Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...

History

The carrier was formed as Compagnie Centre Africaine Air Bangui in 1966 in association with

Air Afrique Air Afrique was a Pan-African airline, that was mainly owned by many West African countries for most of its history. It was established as the official transnational carrier for francophone West and Central Africa, because many of these countr ...

and

Union de Transports Aériens Union de Transports Aériens (abbreviated as UTA and sometimes known as UTA French Airlines), was a French airline that was formed in 1963 as a result of a merger between Union Aéromaritime de Transport (UAT) and Transports Aériens Interconti ...

(UTA), with the latter providing management and technical assistance. It was conceived to provide feeder services to Air Afrique. Operations started in early 1967, linking Bangui with Berberati using Douglas DC-3 aircraft. In , a Beech 95 Baron was acquired for flying new routes to

Bakouma Bakouma is a sub-prefecture in the prefecture of Mbomou in Central African Republic. The area is known for its prosperity of mineral resources which have for a long time remained unexploited. History Bakouma was founded in September 1892 when ...

and Bangassou. One

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

and one

Beech Baron The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production. Design and development The di ...

made up the aircraft park at . Gaining

status, the company was renamed ''Air Centrafrique'' in mid-1971 following reorganisation after the government attempted to withdraw from the Air Afrique consortium earlier that year. The launching of Air Centrafrique as an independent airline was one of the moves of the proclaimed Emperor Bokassa I that indebted the country, to the point that banks began to refuse loans to the state in the same year. Following the rupture with Air Afrique, agreements were signed with

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, Congo and Chad for Air Centrafrique to fly to those destinations. On 1973-2-13, Bokassa issued a decree suspending operations of Air Centrafrique, due to a conflict with French navigation staff. By , passenger scheduled services to Bangui,

Bambari Bambari is a town in the Central African Republic, lying on the Ouaka River. It has a population of 41,356 (2003 census) and is the capital of Ouaka prefecture. Bambari is an important market town and is home to Bambari Airport, and the R ...

, Bangassou,

Birao Birao is the capital of Vakaga, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African Republic and was an administrative post in the colony of Ubangui-Shari. In March 2007, the town was almost completely burnt down in the fighting between rebels a ...

Bouar Bouar is a market town in the western Central African Republic, lying on the main road from Bangui (437 km) to the frontier with Cameroon (210 km). The city is the capital of Nana-Mambéré prefecture, has a population of 40,353, while ...

, Bria, Carnot, M'Boki,

Ouadda Ouadda is a town located in the Central African Republic prefecture of Haute-Kotto. History On 10 December 2012, the rebels from Séléka seized Ouadda, as well as weapons left by fleeing soldiers. In 2021 Ouadda was under control of ex-Sélék ...

and

Zemio Zemio is a town and sub-prefecture in the Haut-Mbomou prefecture of the south-eastern Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to th ...

were operated; seasonal flights were also undertaken during the safari hunting period. A Caravelle 3 entered the fleet in the late 1970s. The airline ceased operations between 1978 and 1979. The collapse of Air Centrafrique, along with other debacles of the Bokassa legacy, contributed to undermining the prestige of the Central African Republic internationally.

Destinations

Following is a list of destinations served by Air Centrafrique all through its history:

Fleet

Air Centrafrique operated the following aircraft throughout its history: *

* Douglas DC-3 *

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1 ...

* DC-8-55 *

Sud Aviation Caravelle III The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle is a French jet airliner produced by Sud Aviation. It was developed by SNCASE in the early 1950s and made its maiden flight on 27 May 1955. It included some de Havilland designs and components developed for th ...

Notes

References

Bibliography