Albarka Air

Albarka Air was an airline based in Abuja, Nigeria. It operated scheduled and charter services within Nigeria and charters to other countries in central and west Africa. Its main base was Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Code Data

• IATA Code: F4
• ICAO Code: NBK
• Callsign: AL-AIR

History

The airline was established in 1999 and started operations in March 2000. It is owned by Buba Marwa (51%) and others (49%). The Nigerian government set a deadline of April 30 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to ensure better services and safety. Seven airlines failed to meet the deadline and as a result would not be allowed fly in Nigeria’s airspace with effect from April 30 2007. These were: ADC Airlines, Fresh Air, Sosoliso Airlines, Albarka Air, Chrome Air Service, Dasab Airlines and Space World Airline. The affected airlines would only fly when they satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)’s criteria in terms of re-capitalization and thus be re-registered for operation.

Destinations

Albarka Air operated services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (at January 2005): Abuja, Lagos, Maiduguri and Yola. The airlines was grounded in December 2005 due to safety concerns and all flights have been suspended since. The airline's AOC was cancelled in April 2007 as the company did not meet the new capital requirements imposed by the authorities.

Fleet

The Albarka Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at August 2006):

• 2 Boeing 727-200
• 1 Boeing 737-200

Previously operated

The airline previously operated 3 Boeing 747 and 1 Boeing 767 aircraft, all delivered in January 2002, but all since disposed of.