Gambia International Airlines Limited (GIA) is the national carrier of the Gambia and the most experienced and trusted ground handler in Banjul, The Gambia. GIA's mandate is to provide air transportation and related services to carriers operating at Banjul International Airport. Since its inception, GIA's core activities were categorized into flight operations, ground handling, cargo operations, Ticket sales and reservation, and Hajj and Umrah activities. However, the flight operation unit of GIA has been dormant for a while due to the lack of a viable partner to reactivate this activity.
History
Gambia International Airlines was established on 23 January 1996 and started operations on 1st March 1996. GIA was established to take over the activities of the then-defunct Gambia Airways.
By its vision, mission, legal status, and mandate, the operation of international air services is meant to be the core business activity of GIA. However, mainly due to a lack of requisite financial resources, a strategic decision was taken early in the company's life to defer independent flight operations. Nonetheless, several attempts have been made at joint operations with several partner airlines including:
The flights on the above arrangements operated mostly regional passenger services within West Africa out of Banjul International Airport, as well as flights to London.
Despite suspending flight operation activity, GIA has been engaged in providing other services:
- Air Namibia 2001
- Safair 2003
- Futura 2003-2005
- TACV 2008-2010
- Air Mauritania 2014
- ground handling services
- cargo operations (import, export and warehousing)
- travel agency
- Hajj and Umrah operations
Destinations
Upon closure, Gambia International Airlines, with partners, served the following scheduled destinations:
- The Gambia
- Banjul - Banjul International Airport
- Nigeria
- Lagos - Murtala Muhammed International Airport
- Senegal
- Dakar - Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport
- Mauritania
- Nouakchott - Oumtounsy International Airport
- Sierra Leone
- Freetown - Lungi International Airport
- United Kingdom
- London - London Gatwick Airport
Fleet
Over the years, the Gambia International Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
- 1 Boeing 737-200
- 1 Boeing 737-800
- 1 ATR-72
See also
- Transport in the Gambia