Southern Star Airlines

Southern Star Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
4P
Founded2011
Commenced operations2011
Ceased operations2011
HubsJuba Airport
Fleet size1
Destinations5
HeadquartersJuba, South Sudan
Key peopleAhmad Issa (Chairman & MD)[1]
Websiteflysouthernstar.com

Southern Star Airlines was a short-lived South Sudanese domestic airline based in Juba, the capital and largest city of South Sudan.[2] Southern Star Airlines was founded since the independence of the country on 9 July 2011. The airline owned only one aircraft, which was one de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100. Southern Star Airlines' inaugural flight took place on 20 August 2011.[3] However, after only two months of "erratic operations", the airline closed, shut down all operations, and gave away its one and only aircraft to the Kenyan-based airline ALS.[4][5]

History

Southern Star Airlines formed in 2011 shortly after its independence from Sudan. Ahmad Issa was appointed as the chairman and managing director of the company when it formed. The airline acquired one Bombardier Dash 8 for the airline, registration 5Y-BZI. The aircraft, previously leased to airlines such as Piedmont Airlines, Sakhalin Aviation, and TMK Air Commuter, was first leased to Piedmont Airlines back in 1988, and eventually was leased to Southern Star Airlines in August 2011.[6] The first flight from the airline took place on 20 August 2011. The airline maintained steady operations, but two months into its business, the airline shut down all of its operations. The sole aircraft of the airline was leased to ALS - Aircraft Leasing Services in December 2011. The aircraft has been with that airline ever since.[6]

Destinations

All of Southern Star Airlines destinations were exclusively inside of South Sudan. The destinations Southern Star Airlines served were Juba (landing at Juba International Airport), Malakal (landing at Malakal Airport), Rumbek (landing at Rumbek Airport), Aweil (landing at Aweil Airport), and Wau (landing at Wau Airport).[7]

Fleet

When the airline shut down all operations in October 2011, its fleet consisted of only one aircraft:[8]

Aircraft type Registration Number owned Status
De Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 5Y-BZI 1 Leased to Aircraft Leasing Services

References

  1. ^ "About Us". Fly Southern Star. Web Archive. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "South Sudan gets new airline". defenceweb.co.za. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Services, Check-In & Baggage". Fly Southern Star. WebArchive. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Southern Star halts operations". Etrubo News. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Southern Star Airlines is born in South Sudan". World Airline News. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Registration Details for 5Y-BZI". Plane Logger. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Schedule". Fly Southern Star. Web Archive. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Southern Star Airlines Fleet Details and History". planespotters.net. Plane Spotters. Retrieved 23 October 2016.