Air Mauritanie

Last updated
Air Mauritanie
AirMauritanie.jpg
IATA ICAO Callsign
MRMRTMIKE ROMEO
FoundedSeptember 1962 (1962-09)
Commenced operationsOctober 1962 (1962-10)
Ceased operations2007
Hubs Nouakchott International Airport
Headquarters Nouakchott, Mauritania
Website airmauritanie.mr

Air Mauritanie was the national airline of Mauritania from 1962 until it ceased operations in 2007 due to financial difficulties. It was based at Nouakchott International Airport, from where it operated domestic services, as well as flights to African destinations and Paris. The carrier had its headquarters in Nouakchott. [1]

Contents

History

Air Mauritanie Boeing 737-200 Air Mauritanie Boeing 737-200; F-GCSL@LPA, February 2002 (4845259900).jpg
Air Mauritanie Boeing 737-200

Air Mauritanie was established in September 1962 as the national airline of the country. [2] Operations started in October the same year, [3] with Spantax leasing DC-3 equipment, and also providing technical assistance. [4] A Nord 262 was ordered in 1965. The airline was reorganised in 1967, and shareholding was divided between the government of Mauritania (60%), Air Afrique (20%) and Union de Transports Aériens (UTA) (20%). Two Ilyushin Il-18s were bought in 1969, with the Soviets providing training and technical assistance; these aircraft were flown to Dakar, Nouadhibou and Las Palmas. [5]

At March 1970, the airline had 120 employees and operated a domestic network plus international services to the Canary Islands and Mali using one DC-3, one DC-4, and an Il-18. [4] In February 1974, a five-year contract was signed with Hughes Airwest for the provision of capacity building of the pilots and mechanics. [2] The number of employees had grown to 170 by March the same year, with a fleet comprising one DC-3, two DC-4s and one Navajo. At this time, Casablanca, Dakar and Las Palmas were part of the airline's list of international destinations, as well as domestic services radiating from Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. [6] That year, the carrier acquired two 40-seater F-227As valued at US$1,100,000(equivalent to $6,795,951 in 2023) million. [7] In July 1974, the company was reorganised again and renamed Société d'Economie Mixte Air Mauritanie. [8] By March 1975, the government of Mauritania was the major shareholder of the company (60%), with the balance evenly split between Air Afrique and UTA. [2]

Two Fokker F28-4000s entered the fleet in November 1983. [5] These two aircraft made up the fleet in late March 1985; at this time, there were 259 employees. [8] On 1 July 1994, a Fokker F28 was lost in an accident while landing at Tidjikja Airport during a sandstorm. [5] Two ATR 42s were ordered in 1996 for replacement of the Fokker F28 aircraft. [9] These two aircraft were delivered to the company in June and September 1996. [10] Aimed at promoting African integration, Air Mauritanie extended its Nouakchott–Bamako route to the Ivory Coast in November 1999. [11]

Air Mauritanie Fokker F-28 Fellowship Fokker F-28-4000 Fellowship Air Mauritanie 5T-CLF, RTM Rotterdam, Netherlands PP1168337550.jpg
Air Mauritanie Fokker F-28 Fellowship

At April 2000, the staff stood at 259. The fleet comprised a single Fokker F28-4000 that served Abidjan, Aioun el Atrouss, Atar, Bamako, Banjul, Casablanca, Dakar, Kiffa, Las Palmas, Nema, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Tidjikja and Zouerate. At this time, Air Afrique had a 20% participation in the airline. [12] In mid-2000, the Pan-African carrier boosted its shareholding in the company to 32%. [13]

Citing security concerns, [14] the United Kingdom banned Air Mauritanie from flying into the country airspace in January 2004. [15] Among other carriers, Air Mauritanie was blacklisted because of the failure of the Mauritanian civil aviation authority to comply with ICAO standards. [16] The economic situation of the carrier entered a steep decline in mid-2005, when the crisis forced the government to replace the airline's Director. [17] It was reported in August 2006 that Royal Air Maroc would take a majority stake (51%) in the airline and to effectively take over its management; [18] at this time, the major stockholders were the Nationale d'assurances et réassurance (40%), the Banque Mauritanienne de Commerce International , Établissements Noueigued, and Star Oil Mauritanie . [19] However, in December 2006, the government of Mauritania created another carrier, Mauritania Airways, with the aid of private Mauritanian investors and Tunisair, which became the major shareholder (51%) of the newly created airline. [20] [21]

By 2007, Air Mauritanie was so indebted that in September two aircraft were seized for debts with the leasing company, [22] the International Lease Finance Corporation, followed by the impoundment of the presidential aircraft, a Boeing 727-200. [17] Debts for leasing these three aircraft had risen to US$2,700,000(equivalent to $3,967,453 in 2023) million. [17] Air Mauritanie ceased operations in September 2007 and was liquidated. [23] Two months later, Mauritania Airways started operations. [20] [24]

Destinations

Air Mauritanie was based at Nouakchott International Airport. [25] The airline served the following destinations all through its history:

CountryCityAirportNotesRefs
Cape Verde Praia Praia International Airport — [26]
France Paris Orly Airport — [25]
Gambia Banjul Banjul International Airport — [12]
Guinea-Bissau Bissau Osvaldo Vieira International Airport — [26]
Mali Bamako Bamako–Sénou International Airport — [12]
Mauritania Atar Atar International Airport — [12]
Mauritania Aioun el Atrouss Aioun el Atrouss Airport — [12]
Mauritania Kiffa Kiffa Airport — [12]
Mauritania Nema Néma Airport — [12]
Mauritania Nouadhibou Nouadhibou Airport — [12]
Mauritania Nouakchott Nouakchott International Airport Hub [25]
Mauritania Selibaby Sélibaby Airport — [26]
Mauritania Tidjikja Tidjikja Airport — [12]
Mauritania Zouerate Tazadit Airport — [12]
Morocco Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport — [12]
Senegal Dakar Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport — [12]
Spain Las Palmas Gran Canaria International Airport — [12]

Historical fleet

Air Mauritanie operated the following aircraft along the years:

Accidents and incidents

As of January 2014, Air Mauritanie experienced five accidents or incidents, according to Aviation Safety Network . The only event that lead to fatalities occurred on 1994-7-1 during a landing accident. [28] Following is the list of these events.

DateLocationAircraftTail numberAircraft damageFatalitiesDescriptionRefs
6 July 1965 Flag of Mauritania.svg Nouakchott Douglas C-47-DL Un­known W/O 0Un­known [29]
14 March 1979 Flag of Mauritania.svg Nouakchott Fairchild F-27A 5T-CJYW/O0Damaged beyond repair on landing at Nouakchott International Airport. [30]
1 July 1994 Flag of Mauritania.svg Tidjikja Fokker F28-4000 5T-CLFW/O80/93The aircraft was completing a domestic Nouackchott–Tidjikja scheduled passenger service as Flight 625; the undercarriage failed on landing at Tidjikja Airport, causing the airframe to skid off the runway, crashing into a rock and bursting into flames. [31] [32] [33] [34]
9 August 1996 Flag of Mauritania.svg NouakchottFokker F28-40005T-CLGNone0 Hijacking episode. [35]
15 February 2007 Flag of Spain.svg Las Palmas Boeing 737-700 Un­knownNone0The aircraft was hijacked by Mohamed Abderraman on a flight from Nouakchott to Las Palmas in the Spanish Canary Islands. The hijacker was allegedly seeking political asylum in France. Spain had identified him as a Mauritanian, while Mauritania said he was a Moroccan from the Western Sahara. The aircraft had 71 passengers and 8 crew on board. While explaining to Abderraman that the plane did not have enough fuel to reach France, the captain, Ahmedou Mohamed Lemine, discovered Abderraman did not speak French. When the Moroccan government denied the plane's request to land and refuel at Dakhla in the Western Sahara, the pilot decided to continue on to Las Palmas as planned. Afterwards the captain spoke to the first officer Satvinder Virk who was travelling as safety pilot in French, warning him that upon landing he was going to brake hard, to throw the hijacker off balance and give the crew a chance to overpower him. On landing, the captain did so, and the hijacker fell to the floor, dropping one of his pistols. First officer Virk and steward Thiam (entering first and immobilising the hijacker) poured boiling water from the coffee machine on him and beat him until they considered him sufficiently subdued. The hijacker was tied with life-jacket straps and handed over to the Guardia Civil. About twenty passengers were slightly injured when evacuating from the port aft escape slide. [36] [37] [38] [39]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Libya

Libyan Airlines, formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the flag carrier of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli International Airport. Benina International Airport in Benghazi serves as a secondary base. Libyan Airlines also operates Hajj services. The company is wholly owned by the government of Libya.

Air Algérie SpA is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as domestic services to 32 airports. As of December 2013, Air Algérie was 100% owned by the Government of Algeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran Aseman Airlines</span> Airline in Iran

Iran Aseman Airlines is the third-largest Iranian airline headquartered in Tehran. It operates scheduled domestic passenger services and regional international services.

PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operating as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. The word merpati is Indonesian for "dove", and Nusantara is a Javanese word found in the Pararaton meaning "the outer islands", referring to the Indonesian archipelago. The airline was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. It also maintained both a maintenance and simulator facility at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. The Merpati Training Centre at Surabaya housed Fokker F-27, AVIC MA60 and CN-235 full motion simulators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TAAG Angola Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Angola

TAAG Angola Airlines E.P. is a state-owned airline and flag carrier of Angola. Based in Luanda, the airline operates domestic services within Angola, medium-haul services in Africa and long-haul services to Brazil, Cuba, and Portugal. The airline was originally set up by the government as DTA – Divisão dos Transportes Aéreos in 1938, rechristened TAAG Angola Airlines in 1973, and gained flag carrier status in 1975. It is now a member of both the International Air Transport Association and the African Airlines Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LAM Mozambique Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Mozambique

LAM - Mozambique Airlines, S. A. or Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, Ltd., operating as LAM Mozambique Airlines, is the flag carrier of Mozambique. The airline was established by the Portuguese colonial government of Mozambique in August 1936 as a charter carrier named DETA - Direcção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos, and was renamed in 1980 following reorganisation. LAM Mozambique Airlines is based in Maputo, and has its hub at Maputo International Airport. It operates scheduled services in Southern Africa. The company is a member of the International Air Transport Association, and of the African Airlines Association since 1976.

Ecuato Guineana de Aviación (EGA) was Equatorial Guinea's national airline, although it now appears to be defunct. Established in 1986, the carrier operated passenger and cargo services in West Africa from its main base in Malabo International Airport.

Yemenia is the flag carrier of Yemen, based in Sanaa. It operates scheduled domestic and international passenger flights to destinations in Africa and the Middle East out of its hubs at Aden International Airport, and to a lesser extent Seiyun Airport.

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 countries did not have the capability to create and maintain a national airline, and had its headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The carrier was a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as well as the French Union's smaller IATA-like ATAF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LADE</span> Argentinian airline

LADE - Líneas Aéreas del Estado is an airline based in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina owned by the Argentine state and operated by the Argentine Air Force. It provides domestic scheduled services, mainly in Patagonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigeria Airways</span> Defunct airline (1958–2003)

Nigeria Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Nigeria Airways, was a Nigerian airline. The company was founded in 1958 after the dissolution of West African Airways Corporation (WAAC). It held the name West African Airways Corporation Nigeria until 1971, when it was rebranded to the name it had until it ceased operations in 2003. The government of Nigeria owned a majority of the airline (51%) until 1961, when it boosted its shareholding in the company to 100% and made it the country's flag carrier. At the time of dissolution, the airline's headquarters were at Airways House in Abuja. Operations were concentrated at Murtala Muhammed International Airport and served both domestic and international destinations mainly concentrated in West Africa; the network also had points in Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia. The airline was managed by a number of foreign companies, including British Airways, KLM and South African Airways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NLM CityHopper Flight 431</span> 1981 aviation accident

NLM CityHopper Flight 431 refers to a Fokker F-28-4000, registration PH-CHI, that was due to operate an international scheduled Rotterdam–Eindhoven–Hamburg passenger service. On 6 October 1981, the aircraft encountered a tornado on the first leg, minutes after taking off from Rotterdam Airport, and crashed 15 miles (24 km) south-southeast of Rotterdam. All 17 occupants of the aircraft – 13 passengers and 4 crew members– died in the accident.

Nouakchott International Airport was an airport located in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. It closed in June 2016 upon the opening of Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport, 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of the city. Until late 2010, the airport served as hub of Mauritania Airways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviaco</span> Former Spanish airline

Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the Edificio Minister in Madrid.

NLM CityHopper, full name Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij, was a Dutch commuter airline, founded in 1966. Its head office was in Building 70 in Schiphol Airport East in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mauritania Airways</span> Defunct Airline based in Nouakchott, Mauritania

Mauritania Airways S.A. was an airline based in Nouakchott, Mauritania, operating out of Nouakchott International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alisarda</span> Italian airline (1963-1991)

Alisarda S.p.A., operating as Alisarda, was an Italian airline based in Olbia, Sardinia that operated between 1963 and 1991 before it merged with Universair to become Meridiana. As of 2019, Alisarda S.p.A. is a holding company with a 51% stake in Meridiana successor airline Air Italy.

Tidjikja Airport is an airport serving Tidjikja, the capital of the Tagant region of central Mauritania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Mauritanie Flight 625</span> 1994 aviation accident

Air Mauritanie Flight 625 was a Fokker F28 Fellowship 4000 which crashed on landing at Tidjikja Airport, Mauritania on 1 July 1994 in sandstorm conditions. All four crew and 76 of the 89 passengers were killed in the crash. It remains the deadliest crash involving a Fokker 28 and the deadliest one in Mauritania.

References

  1. ↑ "Nos agences". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie (Société Nationale Air Mauritanie)". Flight International . 108 (3445): 468. 20 March 1975. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie". Flight International . 159 (4772): 66. 20–26 March 2001. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Air Mauritanie (Société Nationale Air Mauritanie)". Flight International . 97 (3185): 469. 26 March 1970. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Guttery (1998), p. 122.
  6. ↑ "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie (Société Nationale Air Mauritanie)". Flight International . 105 (3393): 16. 21 March 1974. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Air Transport". Flight International . 105 (3396): 451. 11 April 1974. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Air Mauritanie has bought two 40-seat F-227As with spares from International Air Lease. The aircraft, which cost a total of $1.1 million, will be delivered in May and June and will be the subject of a five-year maintenance support contract with, it is reported, Hughes Air West.
  8. 1 2 "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie (Société d'Economie Mixte Air Mauritanie)". Flight International . 127 (3953): 47. 30 March 1985. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Air Mauritanie order". Flightglobal . Flight International. 22 May 1996. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 Guttery (1998), p. 123.
  11. ↑ "Mauritania: Air Mauritanie Launches New African Route". AllAfrica.com . The North Africa Journal. 19 November 1999. Archived from the original on 26 May 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie". Flight International . 157 (4722): 63. 4–10 April 2000. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Afrique invests in ally". Flightglobal . Flight International. 25 July 2000. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "EU Parliament backs airline safety blacklist". Times of Malta . Reuters. 17 November 2005. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  15. ↑ Ray, Susanna; Rothman, Andrea (1 September 2005). "Swiss Ban Egypt, Armenia Airlines on Safety Concerns (Update1)". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  16. ↑ Cendrowicz, Leo (19 August 2005). "EU to blacklist unsafe airlines". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 "Crise à Air Mauritanie : Décision dans les 48 heures". Aujourd'hui Le Maroc . 10 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "Africa report: Survival test". Flightglobal . Airline Business. 21 November 2006. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. A 51% stake and management control is being negotiated with Air Mauritanie and RAM will also take on the lease of the airline's two 737-700s.
  19. ↑ "Événement : La RAM prend le contrôle d'Air Mauritanie". Aujourd'hui Le Maroc . 21 August 2006. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013.
  20. 1 2 "Le nouvel opérateur mauritano-tunisien, Mauritania Airways effectue mercredi un vol inaugural". Babnet Tunisie. 3 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  21. ↑ "Mauritania Airways a été créée, hier le lundi 18 décembre 2006, dans le cadre d'un partenariat tripartite entre la Mauritanie, TUNISAIR et le groupe mauritanien Bouamatou". Tustex. 19 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "Deux avions d'Air Mauritanie bloqués à Orly". Aujourd'hui Le Maroc . 13 September 2007. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Other News - 10/23/2007". Air Transport World . 23 October 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  24. ↑ "TTI : lancement opérationnel chez quatre nouveaux clients". Boursier.com. 16 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 "Reseau". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. 1 2 3 "World airline directory – Air Mauritanie". Flight International . 153 (4619): 44. 1–7 April 1998. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  27. ↑ "Air Mauritanie adds VIP 727". Flightglobal . Flight International. 25 November 2003. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  28. ↑ "Accident record for Air Mauritanie" . Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  29. ↑ Accident descriptionfor 6V-AAA at the Aviation Safety Network
  30. ↑ Accident descriptionfor 5T-CJY at the Aviation Safety Network
  31. ↑ Accident descriptionfor 5T-CLF at the Aviation Safety Network
  32. ↑ "The world's worst air disasters". The Guardian . 25 July 2000. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  33. ↑ "Air Mauretanie F28 crashes in sandstorm". Flight International . 146 (4429): 10. 13–19 July 1994. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  34. ↑ "Mauritania Crash Kills 94". The New York Times . 2 July 1994. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  35. ↑ Hijacking descriptionfor 5T-CLG at the Aviation Safety Network
  36. ↑ Hijacking description at the Aviation Safety Network
  37. ↑ "Fast-thinking pilot fools hijacker". NBC News . Associated Press. 16 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  38. ↑ "Mauritania pilot outwits hijacker". BBC News . 16 February 2007. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
  39. ↑ "Air Mauritania hijack ends, suspect arrested-radio". AlertNet. Reuters. 15 February 2007. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.