(Business in Cameroon) - Public airlines Camair-Co will resume its operations on October 12, 2020 (after eight months of suspension). The airline indicates that it will start with 42 weekly flights to four regional capitals in Cameroon.

They are Yaoundé (the political capital), Douala (the economic capital), Garoua (the regional capital of the North), and Maroua (the regional capital of the Far North). This means Camair-Co (which is only starting with domestic flights) has abandoned the Bafoussam (West), Bamenda (Northwest) and Ngaoundéré (Adamaoua) routes it was operating some months ago.

Thanks to the Maroua-Salak and Garoua airports, the northern part (which is currently Camair-Co’s main market) will be served by 28 weekly flights. Fourteen (14) weekly flights will take off from the Yaoundé and Douala airports towards the Northern regions while eight (8) weekly flights will depart from Garoua and Maroua to Yaoundé and six (6) from Maroua-Salek and Garoua to Douala.

At the same time, seven weekly flights (one daily) will serve the Yaoundé-Douala and Douala-Yaoundé route. These routes will be served by a Boeing 737 (leased by Camair-Co for 3 months and delivered in Douala on September 25, 2020) operated by a Ukrainian crew, our sources indicate.  

Let’s note that Camir-Co is resuming its operations despite the turmoil it has been going through since the launch of its operations in 2011. Indeed, some conflicts have arisen in recent weeks between the company's general manager and his deputy. Besides, on June 19, 2020, the company’s auditor Bekolo & Partners issued a warning indicating that by the end of 2018, Camair-Co had an operating debt of XAF110 billion.

Also, the staff is still waiting for the payment of at least four months of salary arrears. According to an internal source, the company’s employees have not received their salaries since April 2020. In August 2020, the staff still in activity (ed.note: 65% of the staff were put on technical leave in June 2020, for a renewable 3-month) received one month's salary, with the express explanation that the salary was for August 2020.  

Brice R. Mbodiam