Gambia Bird was founded by the German carrier Germania in October 2012.[4] The airline was launched in partnership with the Government of Gambia in order to replace the services of Air Afrique, which was liquidated in 2002.[5] Germania retained a 90% ownership share of Gambia Bird.[4]
The carrier started operations on 22 October 2012 (2012-10-22) with an Airbus A319-100 leased from Germania that flew between Banjul and Dakar.[6]Accra, Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia were added to the route network shortly afterwards;[2] on 24 October 2012 (2012-10-24), Gambia Bird operated its first service to London Gatwick.[7] Flights to Barcelona were introduced on 28 October.[8] A second A319 joined the fleet in November 2012 (2012-11).[9]
In December 2014 (2014-12), Gambia Bird suspended operations until further notice.[10][11][12] By May 2015, there had not been any resumption of services. The former aircraft of Gambia Bird were taken back into service with its parent, Germania.[13] In March 2015, Germania's CEO stated that a resumption of services by Gambia Bird was unlikely, due to an insufficient perspective for future development.[14]
Destinations
Gambia Bird served the following destinations, as of June 2014[update]:
^"Contact UsArchived 3 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Gambia Bird. Retrieved on 7 May 2013. "Headoffice Gambia Bird House 38 Kairaba Avenue Kanifing, Municipality The Gambia"
^Thisdell, Dan (13 February 2015). "Flights cancelled: Top 12 recent airline collapses". London: Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Up-and-coming Africa was not without casualties in 2014. As the year closed, Gambia Bird closed, too – at least until further notice. The airline didn't give a specific reason for the decision – or indicated when it hopes to resume flights – but the announcement coincided with indications of unrest in Banjul, the country's capital.
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