CAMAIR planes grounded in Douala


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Flag of Cameroon

The three planes owned by the Cameroon’s national carrier, CAMAIR, have been grounded at the Douala International Airport in the country’s economic capital, for the past 10 days, causing a massive disruption of its operations, PANA reported. According to Cameroon Airports staffers interviewed by PANA, CAMAIR’s fuel suppliers, mainly Total Cameroon and Shell, have refused to supply fuel to the national airline over unpaid debts, thus grounding its planes. Sources in CAMAIR said the company had been experiencing large disruptions of its international flights, particularly on its main and profitable route of Douala-Yaounde-Paris, for two weeks. “Two weeks ago, CAMAIR owed Total about one billion CFA francs as fuel consumption arrears. The fuel supply company, little reassured by the difficulties of the Cameroonian airlines and fearing a pending cessation of activities… reportedly demanded cash payment for future supplies,” the source said. The situation in CAMAIR, which costs the state about FCFA3 billion monthly, has divided the Cameroonian authorities. While the Finance Minister is becoming less inclined to support the airline financially, the presidency is more concerned about the political implication of a collapsed national carrier. The privatisation of the national airline, which started several years ago, has not progressed as envisaged.

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