Sudan Airways

Sudan Airways IATA
SD ICAO
SUD Callsign
SUDANAIR Founded 1947 Hubs Khartoum International AirportFleet size 9 Destinations 25 Parent companySudanese Airline Authority Headquarters Khartoum, SudanKey people Mr. Elsharif A.O Badr (CEO) Captain Abdalla Idris, Acting Managing Director Website: http://www.sudanair.com/

Sudan Airways (Arabic: الخطوط الجوية السودانية‎) is the national airline of Sudan and is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.[citation needed]

1 History
2 Destinations
3 Fleet
4 Incidents and accidents
5 References
6 External links

History

Sudan Airways was formed by Sudan Railways in 1947 to serve parts of the country that no railways reached. The initial fleet was four de Havilland Doves. In 1952, the airline acquired its first DC-3 and expanded to seven aircraft. These were used for international services to Aden, Asmara, Beirut, Cairo and Jeddah. In 1959, the Vickers Viscount was added to the fleet and the Blue Nile flights to European destinations started. Also in 1959, Sudan Airways joined IATA. In 1962, Sudan Airways took delivery of two De Havilland Comet jets (DH106-4C, as ST-AAW and ST-AAX) to replace its Vickers Viscounts. By 1967, the airline had replaced its DC-3s with Fokker F27s.[citation needed] Subsequently, the fleet was modernised with Boeing 707, Boeing 737, Airbus A310,Airbus A300, Fokker 50 and more recently has acquired through lease-finance, three Airbus A320s.[citation needed]

The 20th anniversary (1947-1967) of the airline was marked by the Sudanese government's issue of four multicoloured postage stamps in December 1968. These stamps show the DC-3 (15 mm), Comet-4C (55 mm), Dove (2Pt), and Fokker Friendship (3Pt), all airborne.[citation needed]

Sudan continues to suffer a civil war which restricts areas of the country that can be served. In addition, there is a UN embargo against the country resulting in curtailment of European services and the sale of two Fokker F50s.[citation needed]

The airline has also used Ilyushin IL-18 aircraft operated by Air Cess.[citation needed]

In 2007, the Sudanese government privatised the airline, maintaining only a 30% share of the national carrier. A team of professional consultants was bought in to the airline, and by year end 2008 the fleet will be expanded to 12 aircraft with more expected in 2009. The network is being developed and in cooperation with the Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, Khartoum Airport is in the process of being upgraded to be used as a hub for Sudan Airways. Anticipated new routes are Nigeria, Kuwait, Bahrain and Eritrea. Moreover, services to Nairobi and Entebbe are expected to resume. Whilst the airline has withdrawn from its once a week service on the London route, it is entering into a codeshare agreement with UK airline BMI that will offer passengers an increased frequency of four flights weekly between the two capital cities.

The airline's investors will also be purchasing state of the art technology that will see Sudan Airways with one of the most advanced reservations, e-ticketing, computerised check-in and inventory management systems in Africa.

Destinations

Sudan Airways operates scheduled services to the following destinations (January 2008) from its Khartoum hub:

Sudan
- Al Fashir
- Dongola
- El Obeid
- Juba
- Khartoum International Airport Hub
- Malakal
- Nyala
- Port Sudan
- Wadi Halfa

Egypt
- (Cairo) Cairo International Airport

Ethiopia
- (Addis Ababa) Bole International Airport

Jordan
- (Amman) Queen Alia International Airport

Kenya
- (Nairobi) Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Libya
- (Tripoli) Tripoli International Airport

Qatar
- (Doha) Doha International Airport

Saudi Arabia
- (Jeddah) King Abdulaziz International Airport
- (Riyadh) King Khalid International Airport

Syria
- (Damascus) Damascus International Airport

United Arab Emirates
- (Abu Dhabi) Abu Dhabi International Airport
- (Dubai) Dubai International Airport

From Port Sudan:

Egypt
- (Cairo) Cairo International Airport

Saudi Arabia
- (Jeddah) King Abdulaziz International Airport

Fleet

The Sudan Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 11 June 2008):[1]

Sudan Airways Fleet Aircraft Total Passengers
(First/Economy) Notes Airbus A300-6001 Airbus A300-600R2 operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic Airbus A310-3001 Boeing 707-3001 Cargo division Fokker 504

Incidents and accidents

The airline has had the following four fatal crashes:

December 6, 1971 – Fokker F27 ST-AAY – Tikaka – forced landing after hijack – 10 fatalities
August 16, 1986 – Fokker F27 ST-ADY – Malakal – shot down by SPLA rebels – 60 fatalities
July 8, 2003 – Boeing 737-200 ST-AFK – Port Sudan – 116 fatalities, one survivor,see Sudan Airways Flight 39‎ [1]
The airline suffered a nonfatal hijacking on March 30, 2007.[2]
June 10, 2008 – Khartoum International Airport, at least 28 people have died and 53 are missing after Sudan Airways Flight 109, an Airbus A310 crashed on landing from Amman, Jordan via Damascus, Syria [2]