Sudanese private airline starts flights to Addis Ababa
A private airline based in Khartoum, Sudan, Badr Airlines, started a new scheduled flight service to Addis Ababa.
The airline performed its inaugural flight from Khartoum to Addis Ababa with a Boeing B737 aircraft on April 27, 2018.
In the sidelines of the Aviation Africa Summit held in Cairo, Mohamed Abbas Alrazm, commercial manager of Badr Airlines, told The Reporter that the airline decided to open a new route to Addis Ababa because of the existing good diplomatic relation between Sudan and Ethiopia. Alrazm said the trade and investment relation between the two sisterly countries is growing. “More Sudanese investors and traders are coming to Ethiopia. Tourism is also growing. And the people of Sudan and Ethiopia have a long history and strong cultural relationship. That is why we decided to start flight operation between Khartoum and Addis Ababa,” Alrazm said.
Badr Airlines will operate a twice weekly flights between Khartoum and Addis Ababa with a B737 aircraft. The national carrier of Sudan, Sudan Airways, which has been flying to Addis Ababa for decades has suspended its operation last year due to commercial challenges. Sudan Airways has been traversing through a turbulent time after the country was placed on a US sanctions list in 2006, the company found it difficult to source new aircraft, spare parts and all the other services that are required to operate an airline.
Though Sudan Airways suspended its flights to Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines operates three daily flights to Khartoum from its main hub Addis Ababa. But from Sudan side Badr Airlines wants to fill the market left by Sudan Airways.
Established in 2004, Badr Airlines is a private airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It operates eleven aircraft 6-B737s, 2 Ilyssiun76 Freighters and three Falcons. The airline serves seven domestic destinations in Sudan. It also operates six scheduled regional flights to Dubai, UAE, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Cairo, Egypt, Kano, Nigeria, Juba and Wau, in South Sudan. The airline also provides VIP charter flight services with its Falcon business jets.
Sahar Abdalwahab Aljak, marketing manager, told The Reporter that Badr Airlines wants to grow its operation in Africa. Sahar said the airline is planning to open new routes to Asmara, Eritrea, Ndjamena Chad, Kampala, Uganda and Hargeissa, Somaliland. “We also plan to start flights to Istanbul, London, Frankfurt and Paris. We are a growing airline. We are doing well,” Sahar said.
According to Sahar, Badr Airlines is in the process to order two B737-800 aircraft. “Because of the sanction we cannot directly buy from Boeing. But we are holding talks with other private companies,” she said.
Executives of Badr Airlines say the airline is profitable but they declined to give financial details. The airline employs 800 workforce.
