In Senegal, a small airline struggles amid pandemic

DAKAR: Launching an airline in Africa is a notorious challenge in a continent and sector where opportunities are often crimped by regulations and national champions are dominant.

Now, for plucky entrants, Covid19 has added to the checklist of problems, as a small Senegalese airline can attest.

Transair, an ambitious company founded 10 years ago, has no passengers because of the pandemic, but it still has to fly its planes.

Once a week, one of its planes makes a sortie out of Dakar’s Blaise Diagne International Airport, even though not one of its passenger seats is filled.

The reason: The company has to ensure its planes meet standards of airworthiness and pilots carry out at least three takeoffs and three landings every three months — requirements for retaining their commercial flying licences.

Pilot Laurent Klinka said he had mixed feelings as he prepared a 50-seat twin-jet Embraer ERJ 145 for a 30-minute trip up Senegal’s coast, reaching SaintLouis before turning round and heading for home.

“It’s a pleasure to get back in an aircraft, even if it’s just for an hour, but everyone is afraid of what could happen with this crisis,” said the French national.

All international flights to and from Senegal have been suspended since March 20, with the exceptions being for a handful of medical evacuations and repatriation flights, as well as for maintenance flights.

On Thursday, the government announced that the suspension of all flights in and out of the country would be extended until June 30.

For Transair, the one-hour validation flights for its four Embraers and two Boeings costs more than €1,000 in fuel alone.

The International Air Transport Association estimates the crisis will inflict a hit of US$314 billion on airlines’ turnover this year, equivalent to a fall of 55 per cent over last year.