Air Gabon

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Air Gabon was Gabon’s national airline, based in Libreville and flying to destinations across western and southern Africa and Europe. Its history stretches from a 1951 regional carrier to a national flag carrier, ending with bankruptcy in 2006.

The story starts in 1951 as Compagnie Aerienne Gabonaise, operating regional flights from Libreville with small planes. It became the flag carrier in 1968 and was renamed Société Nationale Transgabon. In May 1977, after Gabon left the Air Afrique group, Compagnie Nationale Air Gabon was created to operate long‑haul international services from Libreville. The Gabonese government owned about 70% of the airline, with Sofepag (an Air France affiliate) holding around 30%.

Air Gabon pursued bold fleet and route plans. Its early fleet included Fokker F‑28s, DC‑6s, DC‑4s, DHC‑5 Buffalo and a Caravelle. In 1977 it ordered Boeing 747‑200s and 737s. In 1978 President Omar Bongo lent a personal Fokker F‑28 to the airline, and a Boeing 747 arrived that October under a wet lease. In 1979 a DC‑6 crash near Moanda killed three people, and the DC‑6s and DC‑4 were replaced by two Vanguard turboprops as the network expanded to Marseille, Nice, Paris and Rome. Regionally, Air Gabon served about ten African countries and 26 domestic destinations.

During the 1980s and 1990s the fleet was modernized with aircraft such as the Fokker 100, ATR 72s and, for some long‑haul work, jetliners like the Boeing family. In 1993 the airline began flying to Johannesburg, and by 1996 it offered direct London services with a Boeing 747 Combi. Its network by then included Libreville connections to Abidjan, Bamako, Bangui, Cotonou, Dakar, Douala, Geneva, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Lagos, Lomé, Malabo, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Pointe‑Noire and Rome. Paris–Libreville services were revived in 2004 using a Boeing 767‑200.

Air Gabon ceased operations in March 2006 after bankruptcy. A planned new national carrier, Air Gabon International, a joint venture with Royal Air Maroc, never materialized.