Gambia International Airlines Limited (GIA) is the national carrier of the Gambia and the most experienced and trusted ground handler in Banjul, The Gambia. GIA's mandate is to provide air transportation and related services to carriers operating at Banjul International Airport. Since its inception, GIA's core activities were categorized into flight operations, ground handling, cargo operations, Ticket sales and reservation, and Hajj and Umrah activities. However, the flight operation unit of GIA has been dormant for a while due to the lack of a viable partner to reactivate this activity.
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_AN0445468.jpg) Futura operated this aircraft for GIA | |||||||
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| Founded | January 23 1996 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | March 1 1996 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 2007 (as an airline) | ||||||
| Operating bases | Banjul International Airport | ||||||
| Parent company | Government of The Gambia | ||||||
| Headquarters | Banjul, The Gambia | ||||||
| Key people | Mr. Numo K. Sanneh, Awa Samba Jeng | ||||||
| Website | https://gia.gm/ | ||||||
History
editGambia International Airlines was established on 23 January 1996 and started operations on 1st March 1996. GIA was established to take over the activities of the then-defunct Gambia Airways.[1] The airline started having flights operated by Air Namibia in 2000, however despite making a profit in 2003 the airline was shut down in 2004 due to operational problems and then ended flights in 2007.[2]
Flights
editBy its vision, mission, legal status, and mandate, the operation of international air services is meant to be the core business activity of GIA. However, mainly due to a lack of requisite financial resources, a strategic decision was taken early in the company's life to defer independent flight operations. Nonetheless, several attempts have been made at joint operations with several partner airlines including:
- Air Namibia 2001
- Safair 2003
- Futura 2003-2005
- TACV 2008-2010
- Air Mauritania 2014
The flights on the above arrangements operated mostly regional passenger services within West Africa out of Banjul International Airport, as well as flights to London.
Despite suspending flight operation activity, GIA has been engaged in providing other services:
- ground handling services
- cargo operations (import, export and warehousing)
- travel agency
- Hajj and Umrah operations
Destinations
editUpon closure, Gambia International Airlines, with partners, served the following scheduled destinations:
Fleet
editOver the years, the Gambia International Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[citation needed]
- 1 Boeing 737-200
- 1 Boeing 737-800
- 1 ATR-72
- Fokker F 28[3]
