Ivory Coast’s national airline Air Cote d’Ivoire received 14 billion CFA francs ($24.09 million) from the government to keep it afloat as the coronavirus pandemic shut down flights, its chief executive said on Friday.
CEO Rene Decurey also told Reuters in an interview that the company plans to receive a new Airbus A320neo in October, which will be the 11th plane in its fleet.
After a three-month suspension due to the pandemic, domestic flights resumed on Friday and international flights are scheduled to restart on July 1, the Ivorian government announced on Thursday.
“We think that if we can start (regional flights) in the month of July, we will, if everything goes well, recover 80% of our passengers by the end of the year,” Decurey said.
Air Cote d’Ivoire carried more than 750,000 passengers last year. Ivory Coast is home to Abidjan airport, one of West Africa’s busiest hubs that connects flights across the region.
