Air West

Infobox Airline
airline = Air West

logo_size =
fleet_size = 13
destinations =
IATA =
ICAO = AWZ
callsign =
parent =
company_slogan =
founded = April 1992
headquarters = Khartoum, Sudan
key_people =
hubs = Khartoum International Airport
secondary_hubs =
focus_cities =
frequent_flyer =
lounge =
alliance =
website = http://www.airwestuae.com/

:"For the Sudanese airline with a similar name see Air West Express":"For the USA airline with a similar name see Hughes Airwest"

Air West is an airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It operates domestic passenger services and international cargo charters. Its main base is Khartoum International Airport, with a hub at Sharjah International Airport. cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | pages= 68-69 | date= 2007-03-27] This airline has no connection to Hughes Airwest. It also operates under the name Sun Air and East/West Cargo.

The airline is on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union.

History

The airline was established in April 1992 and started operations in October 1992. It is owned by Saif Omer (90%), Chairman and President of the airline, and Housam Saif (10%). Air West was the first Sudanese airline to start to fly between Khartoum and Rumbek, where the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has its headquarters. [http://list.msu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0506d&L=sudanese&P=559 Indian Ocean Newsletter] 25 June 2005]

Incidents and accidents

On February 3, 2005, an Air West Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, owned by East-West Airlines based in Sharjah, left Sharjah with 46 tons of humanitarian cargo for Nyala, Darfur province in Sudan, with a planned en-route stop at Khartoum. When the crew first contacted Khartoum they advised air traffic control that they had fuel problems. The crew were advised to make an emergency landing at Aad Babaker, which is about 15 km west of Khartoum. The aircraft crashed about 15km from Khartoum killing all seven crew. [Flight International July 2005] [ [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050203-0 Aviation Safety Network] retrieved 20 November 2006]

On January 24, 2007, Air West Flight 612, a Boeing 737 with 95 passengers and 8 crew on board, was hijacked and diverted to the Chadian capital of N'Djamena. The plane, destined for the town of El Fasher, took off from Khartoum at 8:30 AM. Air traffic control had evidence of only one hijacker aboard the plane. The 24 year old hijacker, Mahamat Abdelatif Mahamat, was armed with a pistol and several knives. He demanded that the airplane be flown to Britain. When he realized that there was not enough fuel to go to Britain he asked to be flow to Bangui or N'Djamena. The aircraft landed safely in N'Djamena and all passengers were released. The hijacker requested guarantees for his safety from the French embassy and requested political asylum in the United Kingdom. The hijacker's demands were not heeded; he was arrested following twenty minutes of negotiations on the ground [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6293649.stm BBC News] ] [ [http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Man_arrested_after_hijacking_Sudanese_plane.html?siteSect=143&sid=7461155&cKey=1169642253000Sudanese aircraft hijack] ] .

In 2008, a Sun Air Boeing 737 flying from Nyala, Darfur, in Western Sudan to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, was hijacked shortly after takeoff. The hijackers demanded to be taken to France where they reputedly wanted to gain asylum. The plane initially tried to land at Cairo but was refused permission. It subsequently touched down at Kufra, Lybia. The hijackers gave themselves up almost 24 hours after taking the plane. There were no reported casualties. [cite news |title=Sudanese hijackers have no connection with Darfur rebels – Sun Air |url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28425 |work=Sudan Tribune |date=28 August 2008] [cite news |author=Mike Pflanz |title=Sudan hijack flight hostages are freed unharmed |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sudan/2631070/Sudan-hijack-flight-hostages-are-freed-unharmed.html |work=The Telegraph |date=27 August 2008]

Fleet

The Air West fleet consists of the following aircraft (at February 2008):

*1 Airbus A310-300
*2 Antonov An-12
*2 Antonov An-24RV
*1 Antonov An-26
*2 Antonov An-28
*1 Antonov An-32
*3 Boeing 737-200
*1 Yakovlev Yak-42D

External links

* [http://www.airwestuae.com/ Air West]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=AWZ&al_op=1 Air West Fleet]

References