Air Kufra (Arabic: الكُفرة للطيران) (IATA: 7F, ICAO: KAV) was a small Libyian charter airline. It was mainly operated out of Kufra Airport. It had only one commercial aircraft, which was leased from Buraq Air,[1] along with a cargo aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-76TD.[2] The airline had two bases: the main base was in Tripoli, Libya, and the other was located in Kufra Airport, Al Jawf. The airline was run by Giuma Nasir (CEO) and Abdurrazag Zaatut (COO).[3]
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| Founded | 2005 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 2008 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 2010 | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Hubs | Kufra Airport | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Air Kufra Aviation Training Center | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 a | ||||||
| Destinations | 3 b | ||||||
| Parent company | Buraq Air | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tripoli, Libya | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Website | airkufra | ||||||
| Notes | |||||||
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History
editAir Kufra was a short lived airline, which reportedly had operations between 2008 and 2010.[4] The airline also offered cargo services. Also, on February 25, 2009, Air Kufra announced it will be opening a training center in Tripoli.[5]
Training center
editThe Air Kufra training center was founded in 2007, to encourage Libyans to get into aviation, and is still open. The training center operates Cessna 172s. The Cessna 172s were sold to Air Kufra in 2007 from Africair. It was the first US corporation to sell US manufactured goods into Libya after the sanctions were lifted.[6]
Fleet
editThese are the only known aircraft Air Kufra had:
| Passenger Fleet | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | In Service | Retired | Passengers | Notes | Refs |
| British Aerospace Jetstream 32 | — | 1 | 21 | Leased from Buraq Air | [1] |
| Cessna 172 | 2 | — | 2 | Used at the training center | [7][6] |
| Cargo Fleet | |||||
| Ilyushin Il-76TD | — | 1 | Cargo | [2] | |
| Total | 2 | 2 | |||
History
editThe British Aerospace Jetstream 32, tail number 5A-DGR, Serial Number 945, was delivered to Buraq Air on August 19, 2004. The plane was used by 2 prior airlines, Dong-Ah Group and British Aerospace. It was 13 years old when it was delivered, having taken its first flight on December 2, 1991. The aircraft's current status is unknown.[8] The Ilyushin Il-76TD, tail number UN-76008 was also leased from Buraq Air. It was used by 6 prior airlines. It was delivered to Buraq Air on 26 February 2004. The plane was later passed on to the GST Aero Aircompany in March 2006.[9] It was 21 years old when it was delivered, having take its first flight on October 31, 1983.
Operations
editDestinations
editThese are the Air Kufra destinations (Before closing):
| Country | City | Airport | Airport Codes | Notes | Refs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IATA | ICAO | |||||
 Libya |
Al Jawf | Kufra Airport | AKF | HLKF | Hub | [10][11] |
| Tripoli | Tripoli International Airport | TIP | HLLT | [11] | ||
 Malta |
Valletta | Malta International Airport | MLA | LMML | [1] | |
Passenger Services
editAir Kufra provided many charter services. They were used for passenger and cargo charter services. For passenger charter, they could provide regular charter, helicopter services and desert dispatches. They are also equipped for both national and international services.[12]
Training center
editThe training center is located at 32°37′38″N 013°10′04.5″E / 32.62722°N 13.167917°E in Qasr bin Ghashir, Libya. It operates 2 Cessna 172s, 5A-KFA and 5A-KFB.[7] In order to achieve its goal of modern aircraft, its aircraft are fitted with new efficient diesel engines. Also, they were fitted with the FNPTII from Alsim. The training center is ISO 9001/2008 certified.[13] The Training center provides training courses to become a Private Pilot and a Commercial Pilot.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c "5A-DGR Picture". JetPhotos. Malcolm Bezzina. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Air Kufra Cargo". Air Kufra. Air Kufra. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "CHAIRMAN MR. LAHEJ SAIF SAEED AL FALASI MEETING CEO OF AIRKUFRA". Academy of Technological Training. ATT Administrator. Academy of Technological Training. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
...welcomed Mr. Giuma Nasir, CEO of Airkufra, and Mr. Abdurrazag Zaatut, Operations Director of Airkufra on 6th March 2013.
- ^ "Air Kufra history from Africa, Libya". Airline History. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ Nasir, Guima (25 February 2009). "Alsim - Air Kufra in Libya choose an ALX". Alsim. Alsim flight training solutions. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Africair-Diesel-Conversion-History-2014" (PDF). Africair. Africair. 2014. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
In 2007, Africair was the first US corporation to sell US manufactured goods into Libya after the sanctions were lifted. We retrofitted two 172R aircraft for Air Kufra and a 172S for Gulf Pearl Aviation to augment their training fleets. The Air Kufra project included customized paint schemes as well as training, disassembly, and containerization of the aircraft for shipment to Tripoli.
- ^ a b "AirKufra - Photos / Facebook". AirKufra. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via Facebook.
- ^ "5A-DGR Registration Details". Plane Logger. Plane Logger. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ "UN-76008 Registration Details". Plane Logger. Plane Logger. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ "Air Kufra - ch-aviation". ch-aviation.com. ch-aviation. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Air Kufra Contact Us". Air Kufra. Air Kufra. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ^ "Air Kufra Passenger Charter". Air Kufra. Air Kufra. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ "AirKufra - About". AirKufra. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via Facebook.
- ^ "AirKufra Training Center". BestAviation.net. BestAviation. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
External links
edit- Official website (in English)
- Buraq Air Website (in English)
- Air Kufra Aviation Training Center
