Morocco, Central African countries launch new airline 'Air Cemac'
A new regional African airline called "Air Cemac" was launched, in Libreville Thursday, under a partnership agreement between Morocco's national flag carrier "Royal Air Maroc" (RAM) and officials from five Central African countries, in what is described as a perfect illustration of South-South cooperation.
RAM chairman, Mohamed Berrada explained that the agreement will ""take into account the specifics of each member country," of CEMAC, French acronym for the Central African Economic and Monetary Community.
"This is a global accord which lays out the main principles" for the joint venture, Berrada said. Air Cemac fleet "will initially consist of three large long-haul passenger aircraft and regional jets. Alongside the RAM-run holding company, national companies will be set up in which it will be the majority shareholder," he added.
The main aircraft "maintenance work will take place in Casablanca," where RAM has its headquarters, and each national company to be set up "will ask for flight times with the number of hours and regional and international destinations to be sold by the holding company," he explained.
The executive secretary of CEMAC who signed the accord, Jean Nkuete of Cameroon, said the negotiations among states can start "now," in order to see the first Air Cemac plane carry out a scheduled flight "by the end of the year."
Speaking at the ceremony, Central African Republic's Transport Minister Sonny M'pokomandji said each state must give traffic rights to the community company, provide a good safety environment and authorise Air Cemac to be self-operating" with regard to maintenance on the ground."
RAM, which has 32 mainly Boeing aircraft and operates 900 flights per week to 67 destinations in 40 countries in Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle East, carrying up to 3.3 million passengers a year, is expanding thus its presence in Africa where it has already set up a successful airline in Senegal, called Air Senegal International (ASI)." The regional company was set up in 2000 with RAM holding 51 percent and the government of Senegal 49 percent of its capital.
The countries involved in Air cemac scheme, first mooted at the end of 2001, are: the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The sixth CEMAC nation, Cameroon, is still hesitant about getting involved.
Promoters say the arrangement will help avert a repeat of errors that doomed Air Afrique in 2002.
the Central African Economic and Monetary Community was set up in March 1994, in replacement of the Central African Economic and Customs Union (UDEAC) that was founded on 8 December 1964 by the Brazzaville Treaty. It aims, according to its founders, to promote the process of sub-regional integration within the framework of an economic union and a monetary union.
