► GAMBIA: See Pics of Gambia Bird's A319 prior to delivery!

Gambia Bird, the new 90/10 venture between German carrier, Germania (ST) and the Gambian government is shortly to receive its first Airbus A319-100 (MSN 4663 | D-ASTA) as the company looks to enter the West African market with initial flights expected to be between Banjul, Gambia and Conakry (Guinea), Dakar (Senegal), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Lagos (Nigeria). London Gatwick has also been mentioned as a likely destination.

Gambia Bird's A319 leased from
Germania in the UK (K Newsome)

According to various German press reports, the Gambian carrier's first two Airbus A319s will be wet-leased from Germania, with maintenance to be done in Germany by Germania Technik whilst a Line Maintenance Station is to be built in Banjul.  Both aircraft are to maintain a German registry enabling the airline to evade an EU Ban and thus operate to Europe in the future, should the market conditions prove right.

With management and staff coming from Germany, the airline bears a strong resemblance to Equatorial Congo Airlines of the Republic of Congo (Lufthansa aligned) and Korongo Airlines of the Democractic Republic of The Congo (Brussels Airlines aligned) as many European carriers increasingly look to opening subsidiaries and joint ventures in Africa as a source of revenue.