Solenta Aviation

Solenta Aviation has adopted a de-centralised business model, thus being able to offer flexible short-haul cargo flights. From its home and maintenance base at OR Tambo International Airport, it operates a number of DHL flights on regional routes to Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe using a fleet of ATR 42 and Cessna 208 Caravan cargo aircraft.^[2]

There are several subsidiaries under separate airline licenses:

• In 2006, Solenta Aviation Gabon was set up, with its headquarters at Libreville and operating out of Libreville International Airport, using one ATR 42 and one Beechcraft 1900
• Solenta Aviation Côte d'Ivoire is based in Abidjan and operates one ATR 72-200F (as of August 2019).^[3] It previously operated two ATR 42 aircraft for DHL Worldwide Express.^[4]
• Solenta Aviation Kenya Ltd. operates two cargo-configured Cessna 208 Caravan out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for DHL flights and aircraft lease services.^[5]
• Solenta Aviation Zimbabwe operates three Cessna 208 Caravan out of Harare International Airport linking Harare, Kariba, Bumi Hills, Hwange and Victoria Falls.
• Solenta Aviation Mozambique operates 1 ATR 42-300 and 2 Embraer ERJ 145 (as of August 2019).^[6]

Further aircraft of Solenta Aviation are based and operated out of several other airports, including:

• Three Beechcraft 1900 are stationed at Accra International Airport in Accra, Ghana for passenger flights for the oil and tourism industries as well as on-demand charters.
• In Erbil, Iraq, one Beechcraft 1900 is based at Erbil International Airport mostly for humanitarian aid missions.
• In Conakry, Guinea, one Beechcraft 1900 is based at Conakry International Airport operated on behalf of a mining company.
• One Beechcraft 1900 is operated for the International Committee of the Red Cross mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.
• Another seven Beechcraft 1900 are operated on behalf of Air Express Algeria out of Oued Irara – Krim Belkacem Airport in Hassi Messaoud, Algeria.^[7]
• One Beechcraft 1900 is operated for the International Committee of the Red Cross mission in Peshawar, Pakistan.^[8]
• Two Beechcraft 1900 are operating a network of DHL routes in Zambia and Zimbabwe out of Johannesburg International Airport.^[9]
• One ATR 42 is based at Lomé-Tokoin Airport in Lomé, Togo for DHL cargo flights throughout West Africa.^[10]
• Two ERJ 145s are operated for 2 oil companies out of Johannesburg International Airport.

On 6 June 2011 at 10:25 local time, an Antonov An-26 (registered TR-LII) ditched into the Gulf of Guinea 2.3 kilometres off Libreville, Gabon. The aircraft was operated by Scorpion Air, a Bulgarian company.^[12] It had been on Flight 122A for DHL Aviation from Port Gentil to Libreville.^[13][14] The three crew members and one passenger on board received only minor injuries.^[13] Prior to the ditching, they had reported hydraulic problems; eyewitness reports suggest that an engine failure may have occurred.^[14][15] As a consequence, the Gabonese government declared a temporary ban on aircraft of the types Antonov An-12, An-24 and An-26 in the country, pending the outcome of the investigation into the cause for the crash.^[16]