Sudan Airways

Infobox Airline
airline = Sudan Airways

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logo_size = 250
IATA = SD
ICAO = SUD
callsign = SUDANAIR
parent = Sudanese Airline Authority
founded = 1947
headquarters = Khartoum, Sudan
key_people = Mr. Elsharif A.O Badr (CEO) Captain Abdalla Idris, Acting Managing Director
hubs = Khartoum International Airport
focus_cities =
lounge =
alliance =
fleet_size = 9
destinations = 25
website = http://www.sudanair.com/

Sudan Airways ( _ar. الخطوط الجوية السودانية) is the national airline of Sudan and is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

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.Fact|date=November 2007 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.Fact|date=November 2007

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.Fact|date=November 2007

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.Fact|date=November 2007

The airline has also used Ilyushin IL-18 aircraft operated by Air Cess.Fact|date=November 2007

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.

Grounding

On Saturday 21st June 2008, Sudan's CAA issued a statement stating that the whole airline had been grounded for a month due to breaking aviation and operational/administration rules. It has been stated that the grounding has nothing to do with Sudan Airways' appalling safety record or the Sudan Airways Flight 109 crash on 10th June 2008. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7467423.stm BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Sudan crash airline is grounded ] ]

Destinations

Sudan Airways operates scheduled services to the following destinations (January 2008):

Domestic

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

International

*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"

Fleet

The Sudan Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of September 2008) : ["CH Aviation", January 2008]

Incidents and accidents

The airline has had the following four fatal crashes:
*December 6 1971ndash Fokker F27 ST-AAYndash Tikakandash forced landing after hijackndash 10 fatalities
*August 16 1986ndash Fokker F27 ST-ADYndash Malakalndash shot down by SPLA rebelsndash 60 fatalities
*July 8 2003ndash Boeing 737-200 ST-AFKndash Port Sudanndash 116 fatalities, one survivor,see Sudan Airways Flight 39‎ [http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/07/08/sudan.crash/index.html?eref=sitesearch]
*The airline suffered a nonfatal hijacking on March 30, 2007. [http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0330/breaking13.htm]
*June 10 2008ndash Khartoum International Airport, at least 29 people have died and 14 are missing [Flight International, 17 June, 2008] after Sudan Airways Flight 109, an Airbus A310 crashed on landing from Amman, Jordan via Damascus, Syria [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7447243.stm BBC NEWS | Africa | Dozens die in Sudan jet inferno ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.sudanair.com/ Sudan Airways]

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