Due to lack of business, Senegal’s national carrier, Air Senegal has announced it would suspend its flights on the Central African route serving Cotonou in Benin, Douala in Cameroon and Libreville from Oct. 30.
“This decision is justified by the poor financial performance of this triangular line since its launch in March 2021,” the airline said in a statement.
According to Devdiscourse, Senegal’s national carrier re-launched in 2016 with ambitions to become a leader in the West African market, but it has struggled to become profitable as it competes with several other regional airlines on crowded regional routes. Major carriers such as Air France KLM SA and Turkish Airways dominate the more profitable international routes to and from West Africa.
Regional airlines have also struggled to emerge financially from the coronavirus pandemic, which grounded planes and halted travel. Senegal’s former national carrier, Senegal Airlines, went out of business after running up massive debts in less than five years of operation.
