The West African Development Bank (BOAD) has agreed to inject fresh capital into regional airlines Air Cote d’Ivoire and ASKY. At a September 23 board meeting in the Togolese capital Lomé, the bank agreed to increase Ivory Coast-based Air Cote d’Ivoire’s share capital by 160 percent to CFA65 billion ($124.7 million), in the process taking a CFA2 billion ($3.8 million) stake in the company. The bank is also boosting the share capital of Togo-based ASKY to CFA25 billion ($47.9 million) and will increase its holding to CFA3 billion ($5.8 million). Both airlines have felt compelled to cut services to the West African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak, namely Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
ASKY started operations in 2010 and operates a fleet of four Bombardier Dash 8 twin turboprops and three Boeing 737-700s. The company was founded in November 2007 with the support of BOAD and several other African development agencies as part of a government-backed effort to boost regional air service across West Africa following the financial collapse of Air Afrique in 2002.
Air Cote d’Ivoire launched services in May 2012 and operates three Airbus A319s and an Embraer 170. The company plans to add three more unspecified aircraft between now and 2018.