- ADC Airlines
Infobox Airline
airline = Aviation Development Company
fleet_size = 3
destinations = 6
IATA = Z7
ICAO = ADK
callsign = ADCO
founded = 1984
ceased = 2007
headquarters =Calabar ,Nigeria
hubs =Lagos ,Nigeria
focus_cities =Abuja ,Nigeria ;Lagos ,Nigeria ;Sokoto ,Nigeria ; Yola,Nigeria ;Calabar ,Nigeria ;Port Harcourt ,Nigeria
frequent_flyer =Unicorn Club
key_people =Captain Babajide B. Alakija -ChairmanCaptain Mfon E. Udom ndash MD/CEO,Aviation Development Company, or ADC Airlines, was an
airline based inCalabar ,Nigeria . It operated domestic scheduled services and regional charter flights. It had applied to be designated on international routes. Its main base wasMurtala Mohammed International Airport , Lagos.History
The airline was established in 1984 and started flight operations in January 1991 as a non-scheduled airline and in 1992 became a scheduled airline. Originally it offered domestic services to
Calabar ,Port Harcourt ,Lagos ,Abuja andKaduna and regional services toMonrovia inLiberia ,Freetown inSierra Leone ,Conakry inGuinea ,Banjul inGambia andAccra inGhana .In 2000 it was decided to temporarily suspend ADC Airlines operations in order to re-capitalise the company. In February 2002 a Boeing 737-200 was acquired and operations restarted to Calabar. Since then three further Boeing 737s have joined the fleet. The airline is owned by the Aviation Development Company (ADC).
The Nigerian government set a deadline of
April 30 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalize or be grounded, in an effort to ensure better services and safety. Seven airlines failed to meet the deadline and as a result would not be allowed fly in Nigeria’s airspace with effect from April 30 2007. These were: ADC Airlines, Fresh Air,Sosoliso Airlines ,Albarka Air ,Chrome Air Service ,Dasab Airlines andSpace World Airline . The affected airlines would only fly when they satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s criteria in terms of re-capitalization and thus be re-registered for operation. [ [http://www.nigeria.gov.ng/NR/exeres/B30C7654-36D9-4C57-837C-1EAB4A103091.htm?id=637 Nigeria Direct] 2 May 2007]Destinations
ADC airlines operated over 120 flights a week on the following services (at February
2005 ):
*Abuja toLagos ,Sokoto and Yola
*Calabar to Lagos andPort Harcourt
*Lagos to Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Sokoto and Yola
*Port Harcourt to Calabar and Lagos
*Sokoto to Abuja and Lagos
*Yola to Abuja and LagosAll flights have been suspended since the crash of
ADC Airlines flight 053 Incidents and accidents
The 1990s saw a number of accidents with ADC Airlines planes. In August 1994 and July 1995 two DC-9-31s were written off in non-fatal accidents, both at
Monrovia-Spriggs Payne Airport . On7 November 1996 a Boeing 727-231 en route from Port Harcourt to Lagos went out of control and crashed after a near miss incident killing all 143 on board. On 29 July 1997 a BAC One-Eleven 203AE landing at Calabar overshot the runway and an engine caught fire. There was one fatality.Flight 53
On
October 29 ,2006 a passenger plane, crashed near the Nigerian capital,Abuja . Local radio called on doctors to rush to the scene. One hundred and four people were on board the Boeing 737-200, which was traveling to Sokoto, and hospitals report seven survivors were foundndash six in a stable condition. The spiritual head of Nigerian Muslims, Sultan Maccido of Sokoto, died in the crash. His son, who is a senator, the deputy governor of Sokoto state and at least one other senator were also victims.The airline has since been suspended by the Nigerian government until further notice.
Fleet
The ADC Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at October 2006):
*3 Boeing 737-200Previously operated
A variety of airline types have been operated in the past including: 1 Boeing 707-338C, 2 BAC One-Elevens, 3
Boeing 727 s, 3Douglas DC-9 s, 1 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and 1ATR 42 .External links
* [http://www.adcairlines.com/ ADC Airlines] (inactive)
* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/operator/airline.php?var=81 Aviation Safety Reports]
* [http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=Z7&al_op=1 CH-Aviation's article about ADC]References
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