■ SINGAPORE: Singapore signs Open Skies treaties with Tanzania, Sierra Leone.

Singapore has  announced the signing of Open Skies Treaties with Sierra Leone and Tanzania respectively on the sidelines of the ongoing 38th session of the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) being held in the Canadian city of Montreal from 24 September to 30 September.

► COTE D'IVOIRE: Air Cote d'Ivoire to roll out new destinations once a third A319, two Q400s arrive in November.

Air Côte d’Ivoire (HF) says it will roll out the new part of its regional expansion programme, set to include new services from Abidjan to Lagos, Kinshasa, N'Djamena, Niamey, Monrovia, Freetown and Bangui, from mid November. The new routes were due to have launched in late August.

► GHANA: Eagle Atlantic Airlines outlines initial West African launch timetable, network.

Ghana's Eagle Atlantic Airlines (E2) has outlined its initial West African regional service schedule now set to tentatively launch on October 21, 2013. Flights between Accra, Abidjan, Freetown, Dakar and Monrovia (Roberts) will operate on-board the airline's leased McDonnell Douglas MD82.

► GAMBIA: Titan Airways leasing Gambia Bird one of its B757-200s.

British charter specialists, Titan Airways (ZT), says it has been operating one of its two B757-200s (MSN 29308 | G-POWH) to Gambian carrier, Gambia Bird (3G), on a short-term ACMI lease contract.

► SIERRA LEONE: Freetown now pitching to Ethiopian in the hopes of establishing direct flights to Addis Ababa.

The West African nation of Sierra Leone has taken its aviation road show to Ethiopia where the Sierra Leonean Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr Andrew Gbebay Bangali, has held talks with Ethiopian Airlines (ET) vice president for Alliances and Corporation and Strategic Planning, Mr Yissehak Zewoldi, regarding the possibility of direct flights between Addis Ababa and Freetown. 

► GHANA: Eagle Atlantic Airlines granted its AOC; eyes regional ops from mid August.

Following on from our previous post, Ghana's Eagle Atlantic Airlines (EAB) has now received its Air Operator's Certificate from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), with plans now afoot to commence regional services, Dr Emmanuel Osei-Acheampong, Eagle Atlantic's Chief Executive Officer, has announced. 

■ SIERRA LEONE: Transport Ministry pitches Freetown to Delta Airlines in bid to lure more US carriers.

Sierra Leone’s Transport and Aviation Minister, Mr. Leonard Balogun Koroma, says his country has submitted all the necessary documents and information to Delta Airlines (DL) in the hopes of luring the US carrier to the capital Freetown. Delta's West African network currently consists of Dakar, Monrovia, Lagos and Accra.

► BELGIUM: brussels airlines modifies Banjul, Dakar, Freetown and Monrovia from late October.

Belgian carrier brussels airlines (SN), will from October 27, 2013 adjust its operations to the following West African destinations including: Banjul, Dakar, Freetown and Monrovia.

■ CHINA: Sierra Leone Government finalizes $8billion worth of infrastructure projects including new airport for Freetown.

Sierra Leonian president,  Dr Ernest Bai Koroma, finalized a USD300million deal with the China Railway International Company for the construction of a new international airport to serve Freetown during his recent week-long trip to China. The airport forms part of a group of investments totalling USD8billion China is set to make in the impoverished West African state.

► LIBERIA: British Airways to boost Monrovia, Freetown with 4th weekly flight from late October.

British Airways (BA) will increase its frequencies to the West African countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone to four weekly on the back of rising demand, the airline has stated. 

► NIGERIA: AeroContractors planning big regional push before Q4 of this year.

Nigeria's second largest airline, Aero Contractors, is considering a big push into the subregion following the recent announcement of its inaugural flights to Douala, Cameroon's largest city, set for today 27 May.

► SIERRA LEONE: Allied Air Cargo begins once weekly Ostend to Freetown via Lagos flights.

Nigeria's Allied Air Cargo (4W) have launched a new weekly Ostend to Freetown, Sierra Leone flight via Lagos Nigeria. The maiden flight was launched on May 11.

► UNITED KINGDOM: AV Cargo Airlines plans African cargo ops from May onwards.

AV Cargo Airlines, the phoenix that has risen the ashes of Zimbabwe's bankrupt Avient Cargo Airlines (Z3) has introduced the first of three planned additional MD11 freighters (MSN 48746 | N278WA) into its fleet with flights to Africa planned in due course.

► SIERRA LEONE: Leone Airways, the Arik Air-partnered initiative, hoping to start operations come June.

Leone Airways, the new Sierra Leonian national carrier formed out of a partnership with Arik Air(W3), Nigeria's largest carrier, and the government of Sierra Leone is to tentatively commence operations in June this year. Under the partnership deal signed in 2011,  Arik will provide the carrier with its initial fleet and technical skills and comes about from the airline's close relationship with Freetown after in 2009 it was designated "the national carrier of Sierra Leone", thereby allowing it to ply the Freetown - London route. 

►► GUINEA: Air France announces changes to Nouakchott, Conakry, Freetown, Monrovia ops from late March.

[UPDATE 25 MARCH] Air France (AF) will from 31MAR13 adjust its operations to the West African destinations of Nouakchott (Mauritania), Conakry (Guinea), Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Monrovia (Liberia).

► SIERRA LEONE: Senegal Airlines starts Dakar - Freetown, adds extra Conakry flights on-board Brussels Airlines A330s.

Senegal Airlines (DN) has launched Dakar - Freetown (Sierra Leone) flights in conjunction with Brussels Airlines (SN). Since 25 February, the Senegalese national carrier has been placing its code "DN" on Brussels Airlines' Dakar - Freetown sector of its Brussels - Dakar - Freetown flights. Similarly, Senegal Airlines has also placed its "DN" code on Brussels Airlines' Dakar - Conakry sector, effectively adding 3 extra weekly frequencies to its previous 7x weekly flights.

■ SIERRA LEONE: Government signs $198m deal with China to build new Freetown International Airport.

Not to be outdone by its neighbour Liberia, the Sierra Leone Government is to move ahead with the first phase in the construction of a new USD198million Freetown International Airport, following the signing of a contract between the Government of Sierra Leone through the Ministry of Transport and Aviation and the China Railway International Company in December last year. Financing is to come from the Chinese Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank).

► GAMBIA: Gambia Bird announces big network expansion effective 10 January 2013.

In confirmation of our previous post, Gambian carrier Gambia Bird (3G) has officially announced new routes to Bamako (Mali), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Douala (Cameroon) with the new destinations set to launch from 10 January. The expansion comes after Gambia Bird (3G) took delivery of their second Airbus A319 (MSN 4691 | D-ASTB) in early December.

► GHANA: Starbow Airlines gets fourth BAe146 as network expansion beckons.

Ghanaian carrier, Starbow Airlines (S9), on Sunday 16 December 2012, added another BAe146-200 aircraft (MSN: E2059 | 9G-SBD) to its fleet bringing the carrier's total to 4. The added aircraft now makes Starbow the largest Ghana-based airline by fleet size.

► GUINEA: Eagle Air to get a second Let 410.

Eagle Air (EGR), the Guinean charter flight specialist, is set to receive its second Let 410 (MSN  871816 | 3X-GHP) according to German site Skyliner.de