Wimbi Dira Airways

Wimbi Dira Airways was a scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo airline based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves the country's main cities. As of May 2014 all of their planes were reported to be in storage.^[2]

Wimbi Dira Airways

IATA ICAO Call sign 9C WDA WIMBI DIRA
Founded	2003
Ceased operations	2014[1]
Hubs	N'djili Airport
Fleet size	1
Destinations	12
Headquarters	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Key people	David Mavinga (General Manager)

History

The airline was established in 2003 and operations started on 13 August 2003. The company is managed by David Mavinga (General Manager) and employed 270 staff.

Banned Airline Status

This airline appears on the E.U. list of prohibited carriers. This means that it may not operate operations of any kind within the European Union community. This is due to the airline not meeting the safety standards set out by the European Union.^[3]

Services

Domestic scheduled destinations to (as of July 2010):

• Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Gbadolite - Gbadolite Airport
  • Gemena - Gemena Airport
  • Goma - Goma International Airport
  • Isiro - Matari Airport
  • Kalemie - Kalemie Airport
  • Kananga - Kananga Airport
  • Kindu - Kindu Airport
  • Kinshasa - N'djili Airport Hub
  • Kisangani - Bangoka International Airport
  • Lubumbashi - Lubumbashi International Airport
  • Mbandaka - Mbandaka Airport
  • Mbuji-Mayi - Mbuji Mayi Airport

Fleet

As of March 2012, Wimbi Dira Airways has no active aircraft in their fleet, all have either been leased out or withdrawn. Wimbi Dira Airways has been operating the following aircraft:^[4]

• 4 Boeing 707
• 1 Boeing 727
• 1 Douglas DC-3
• 4 Douglas DC-9
• 1 McDonnell Douglas MD-80
• 3 Antonov AN-12

Accidents and incidents

• On 4 October 2005 an Antonov 12V (9Q-CWC) departed Kisangani Airport with around 100 D. R. Congolese soldiers. The aircraft had a hard landing at Aru Airport, causing the landing gear to penetrate the cabin. During the evacuation two passengers ran into the still-operating propellers; both of the passengers died as a result.^[5]