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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
In mid-1991 scheduled domestic air service was provided by
Sudan Airways, a government-owned enterprise operated by the
Sudan Airways Company. The company began its operations in 1947
as a government department. It has operated commercially since
the late 1960s, holding in effect a monopoly on domestic service.
In 1991 Sudan Airways had scheduled flights from Khartoum to
twenty other domestic airports, although it did not always adhere
to its schedules. It also provided international services to
several European countries, including Britain, Germany, Greece,
and Italy. Regional flights were made to North Africa and the
Middle East as well as to Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and
Uganda. The Sudan Airways fleet in 1991 consisted of thirteen
aircraft, including five Boeing 707s used on international
flights, two Boeing 737s and two Boeing 727s employed in domestic
and regional services, and four Fokker F-27s used for domestic
flights.
Sixteen international airlines provided regular flights to
Khartoum. The number of domestic and international passengers
increased from about 478,000 in 1982 to about 485,000 in 1984.
Air freight increased from 6 million tons per kilometer in 1982
to 7.7 million tons per kilometer in 1984. As compared with the
previous year, in 1989 passenger traffic on Sudan Airways fell by
32 percent to 363,181 people, reducing the load factor to 34.9
percent. By contrast, freight volume increased by 63.7 percent to
12,317 tons. At the end of 1979, Sudan Airways had entered into a
pooling agreement with Britain's Tradewind Airways to furnish
charter cargo service between that country and Khartoum under a
subsidiary company, Sudan Air Cargo. A new cargo terminal was
built at Khartoum.
Sudan Airways's operations have generally shown losses, and
in the early 1980s the corporation was reportedly receiving an
annual government subsidy of about £Sd500,000. In 1987 the
government proposed to privatize Sudan Airways, precipitating a
heated controversy that ultimately led to a joint venture between
the government and private interests. Like the railroads and
river transport operators, however, Sudan Airways suffered from a
shortage of skilled personnel, overstaffing, and lacked hard
currency and credit for spare parts and proper maintenance.
In the early 1980s, the country's civilian airports, with the
exception of Khartoum International Airport and the airport at
Juba, sometimes closed during rainy periods because of runway
conditions. After the 1986 drought, which caused major problems
at regional airports, the government launched a program to
improve runways, to be funded locally. Aeronautical
communications and navigational aids were minimal and at some
airports relatively primitive. Only Khartoum International
Airport was equipped with modern operational facilities, but by
the early 1990s, Khartoum and seven other airports had paved
runways. In the mid-1970s, IDA and the Saudi Development Fund
agreed to make funds available for construction of new airports
at Port Sudan and Waw, reconstruction and improvement of the
airport at Malakal, and substantial upgrading of the Juba
airport; these four airports accounted for almost half of
domestic traffic. Because the civil war resumed, improvements
were made only at Port Sudan. Juba airport runways were rebuilt
by a loan from the European Development Fund, but the control
tower and navigational equipment remained incomplete.
Data as of June 1991
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