Interesting read, but where does this leave our very own Gambia International Airline? Malanding http://www.observer.gm/artman/publish/article_2604.shtml President to launch major air operator By Abdul Hamid Adiamoh Jul 16, 2004, 09:14 President Yahya Jammeh has been invited to commission a new airline company in The Gambia as part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the 22 July 1994 revolution. The certification of the new air operator, Slok International Airlines Gambia Limited, by the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is said to mark a watershed in The Gambia's aviation and transportation history. GCAA officials said Slok is the first major Gambian registered air operator with the capacity and capability to fly directly from Banjul into every major city in the world, including the USA. The new airline operator was granted an air operator's certificate on Friday, 25 June 2004 at the GCAA headquarters, following a thorough and demanding verification and certification. Ms Senor Thomas, managing director and CEO of International Insurance Company, who served as Gambia's representative of Slok Airlines during the registration period, expressed her admiration for GCAA's hard work and collaborative spirit in facilitating Slok Airlines in The Gambia and thanked the government for creating the environment that has enabled substantial inward investments like Slok Airlines into the country. "The entry of companies like Slok Airlines into The Gambia is a clear testimony that the Gambia government has not misplaced its priorities by committing enormous resources into building and developing the country's infrastructure base. We must commend the government for this foresight," she said. She said Slok Airlines would help catalyse the achievement of Banjul airport's goal of becoming the regional hub for airline logistics in West Africa and beyond. Abdoulie Jammeh, GCAA's deputy director-general, said his institution regards the entry and successful certification of Slok Intentional Airlines as a dream come true for the Gambian aviation industry. "We (the GCAA) take Slok very seriously. This is the kind of investor we have been looking forward to for a very long time. Since 1994, the government of The Gambia has made substantial investments into developing aviation infrastructure to the highest possible standards with a view to creating an attractive environment for big-time investors that would happily choose to register as Gambian carriers. Apparently, Slok Air's entry into the country is a vindication of the appropriateness of government's strategic commitment to infrastructure development in the Gambia," he said. With 12 Boeing 737-200 series in its kitty, Slok International Airlines Gambia Limited is by far the largest airline operator to ever register and operate in The Gambia. In the initial phase, Slok Air will fly from Banjul to all the major capital cities in West, Central and East Africa. Freetown, Dakar, Bamako, Accra, Lagos, Ouagadougou, Douala, Abidjan, Nairobi and other African capitals are expected to feature prominently on the company's itinerary. In the later phases, the airline will draw a direct connecting line in the skies from Banjul to all major world cities in Africa, the United States, Europe and the Middle and Far East. Captain Ernest Iyerefa Bell-Gam, managing director and CEO of Slok Airlines, told the Daily Observer: "Slok Air is here to stay. We intend to be the people's airline; we know all the concerns about cost, lack of connectivity and poor cabin service that presently plague the airline industry. And you can be sure that with Slok Air, all this will become history. We have the strategies in place to radically change things for the better. We'll offer excellent services with safety, reliability, timeliness, and affordability as the major features." With a capacity of 12 Boeing 737-200 series aircraft, all of which are Stage 3 Hoshkit with Dash 15 engines, Slok Airlines' entry into the West African skies is exceptionally bold and superlative. Another major differentiation for Slok Air is that while most aeroplanes plying the West Africa route are Stage 2 Hoshkit meaning that they can only travel within the continent, all of Slok Air's twelve planes are Stage 3 Hoshkit with Dash 15 engines, meaning that each and every one of them would qualify to fly to any part of the world. Ten out of the 12 planes, each with 106 seats, would be used for scheduled flights while the remaining two, reserved for charter services, are configured into circa 40-seat executive aircraft with three presidential lounges. Paul Bass, GCAA director of flight safety standards whose office coordinated the certification of Slok Air also commended Slok's capacity adequacy and high technical standards. "The air operator's certificate involves a thorough and stringent five-stage process. Slok Air's certification success is an indication that it has satisfactorily met all the technical requirements of providing air transportation services for the benefit of the people in The Gambia and elsewhere," he said. The maiden flight is expected to take off immediately after the commissioning by President Jammeh. © Copyright 2003 by Observer Company ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~