Cardiff Aviation has handed over control of Air Djibouti to local management, after successfully completing its contract with the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority (DPFZA) to establish the airline’s operational framework and facilitated funding for its expansion.

Air Djibouti was a product of Cardiff Aviation’s exciting ‘airline-in-a-box’ concept – a process that sees the company take on the initial risks and costs of establishing a fully-fledged airline, sourcing aircraft, training, maintenance and all regulatory support. The contract with the DPFZA was concluded under budget and the airline was handed over with the tools for a bright future.

Cardiff Aviation’s initial remit was to establish Air Djibouti as a regional carrier, with plans to move into freight transport once the operation had been handed back to local control. The airline’s first aircraft, a Boeing 737, was delivered personally by Bruce Dickinson, Chairman of Cardiff Aviation, in 2016. Its latest aircraft, a Boeing 767-200, is currently undergoing an interior refit at Cardiff Aviation’s Twin Peaks facility at St. Athan.

Dickinson says: “It was a pleasure working with the Chairman of DPFZA, Mr Aboubaker Omar Hadi and we’re delighted to have delivered this contract on time and under budget. A new CEO, Mr Abdourahman Ali Abdillahi has been appointed in Djibouti who will be overseeing an airline that has seen a steady increase in loads throughout the set-up process and important airline partnership agreements initiated, so we hope that trend will continue. I wish the new CEO continued success.”

The ‘airline-in-a-box’ model is currently under consideration by a number of other nations, with Cardiff Aviation ready and able to once again take on the challenge of establishing a new international carrier.