A few days ago, Camair Co, the Cameroonian public airline, lost the right to serve the European continent, particularly France which it was flying to until now. This was the decision of the Cameroonian Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA), who restricted the air operator certificate granted to the company by excluding the European zone.

This measure, according to Paule Assoumou Koki, MD of CCAA, is the result of a “state of unpreparedness” of the company to an audit conducted by AESA which compromises the operational perspectives of Camair Co in Europe. Mme Koki moreover estimates that the conclusions of this audit are likely to “damage the credibility of the entire Cameroonian aviation”. Arguments refuted by Jean Paul Nana Sandjo, Managing Director of Camair Co, for whom the airline under his leadership did “not break any law, regulations and other texts, which govern the civil aviation operation in Cameroon”.

Tempers are again flaring between Camair Co and CCAA. In December 2015, a brief Board meeting of CCAA had already led to the dismissal of Pierre Tamkam, then MD of this institution, for refusing to grant certificates to the Chinese MA 60 acquired by the Cameroonian State on behalf of Camair Co, under the pretext that these aircraft did not offer the strongest guarantees in terms of security.

However, despite these new tensions between CCAA and Camair Co, we are far from the December 2015 scenario. This especially as the decision from the Aviation Authority comes just a few days after a media appearance by the Cameroonian Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, who described an unprofitable (FCfa 1.5 billion per month) and over-indebted company (FCfa 35 billion) to “blocking suppliers whose debt is due in the short term, and which non-settlement can stop operations at any time” for Camair Co.

Brice R. Mbodiam