(Business in Cameroon) - On October 15, 2020, Camair-Co announced that due to "circumstances beyond its control," its domestic flights that were supposed to be relaunched today October 16, 2020 (after the first postponement on October 12, 2020) will be postponed.
In the evening after the announcement, Louis Georges Njipendi Kouotou (Managing director of Camair-Co) issued a press statement explaining the reasons for this second postponement. According to the official, this postponement was due to the new procedures introduced in the Global Aviation Insurance sector because of the coronavirus pandemic. These processes caused an extension of the deadlines thus compromising the initial schedules, he indicated.
While the managing director is blaming this postponement on procedural delays, the insurance company helping Cameroon in this process believes reinsurance companies are rather cautious about doing business in these times marked by the health pandemic. Indeed, during the above-mentioned press statement, Thierry Kepeden (CEO of AXA Assurances Cameroun) explained that the aviation insurance market was tense due to the ravages caused by the pandemic. He also indicated that he was trying to convince the reinsurers about Camair-Co’s case.
Are reinsurers’ caution motivated by the financial and operational problems Camair-Co is facing? There is no telling but, Camair-Co still has an operational debt of over XAF110 billion and still owes at least four months of salary arrears to its staff (65%of them under technical leave for a renewable 3-month period). Also, its fleet is still grounded while its financial losses were estimated to be over XAF100 billion in Q1-2020.
Brice R. Mbodiam