Due to unpaid debts:

Camair-co’s plane grounded in Ethiopia

Camair-Co needs to pay its debts to get back the ‘Dja

A Camair-Co team is reportedly in Addis Ababa to discuss with Ethiopian Airlines, the maintenance company, and others. However, it is doubted if they have in their possession the entire sum of about 5.5 billion FCFA which is what Camair-co is owing

By Mercy Neba in Douala

The Boeing 767-300ER codenamed the Dja, belonging to the Cameroon Airlines Company, Camair-Co, has been undergoing repairs for many months in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Inside sources told The Median at the weekend that the repair works are over and that the Dja was supposed to have been flown back to Cameroon since 19 June 2016. But this has not been possible because Camair-co has not settled its debt with the maintenance companies to the tune of close to 5.5 billion FCFA.

                Our sources said overwhelmed by the situation, the director general of Camair-Co, Jean Paul Nana Sandjo, sent a correspondence to the Minister of Finance on 15 June, requesting that the money be paid for the Dja to be retrieved so that it can resume activity. The DG is said to have informed Minister AlamineOusmaneMey in his mail that the maintenance companies are not ready to tolerate any further delay of payment and that Cameroon stands the risk of losing another aircraft, i.e. Boeing 737-700, to a hiring company. We were told that the latter is claiming the sum of 1 480 million FCFA from Cameroon.

                A copy of Nana Sandjo’s letter, which The Median stumbled on and translated into English, reads inter alia: “I have the honour to inform you that the “Check-C” repair works of Boeing 767-300ER the Dja in Ethiopia are now over. The return of this aircraft to Cameroon is billed for Saturday, 18 June 2016 and its resumption of commercial duty as from Sunday, 19 June 2016. As we mentioned in the previous

correspondence, the debts of Ethiopian Airlines (1 billion FCFA), of Honeywell (900 million FCFA), of Willis-Lease and AJW (475 million FCFA), amounting to 2.37 billion FCFA, have to be paid before the Dja resumes service.”

                The director general further wrote: “In fact, Ethiopian Airlines (maintenance of the Dja), Honeywell (air navigation data), and Willis-Lease/A/W-Aviation (rent of the two engines) are no longer ready to grant further delay of payment. Consequently, the Dja can neither return to Cameroon whereas the repair works are now over nor resume service if the above-mentioned amount is not paid.”

                This newspaper was also reliably informed that a Camair-Co team is currently in Addis Ababa to retrieve the Dja, which is an indication that the ministry of Finance must have acted favourably to the DG’s plea. It is however, not known if all or just part of the money has been made available.        

                In addition to the amounts stated above, our sources added, Camair-Co is owing 250 million FCFA to a Clearing House, 500 million FCFA to Tradex, 200 million FCFA to Aurora Aviation, 400 million FCFA to AJW-Aviation and 500 million FCFA to Alyza. All these amounts put together, raise the company’s debt to close to 5.5 billion FCFA.