President Felix Tshisekedi is extremely annoyed with failed efforts to revive the country’s national carrier, the Congo Airways.
In December 2025, Tshisekedi ordered for a detailed investigation into the causes of collapse of the airline.
He also set up a team to prepare a comprehensive recovery plan that would be used to bring back to life a functional airline.
While addressing cabinet, on Friday (March 20th), Tshisekedi said that the report of the joint investigation team that, despite the efforts undertaken within the framework of the emergency recovery plan,Congo Airways continues to face serious dysfunctions, compromising any effective and sustainable recovery.
President Félix Tshisekedi, warned that this deterioration of the situation poses high legal, financial and reputational risks to the state as shareholder in the airline.
“The situation is more worrying because, in the absence of rigorous planning and substantial strengthening of governance, it could compromise the process of renewing the airline fleet recently acquired by the National Social Security Fund, about which full light must be shed on the terms of acquisition, financing and capitalization within Congo Airways,” the minutes of the meeting read in part.
Tshisekedi also expects the Congolese state to fulfill its financial obligations to this company, in particular by paying the rights owed, in order to allow it to mobilize the resources necessary for its recovery.
The Congolese leader has therefore instructed the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Transport and Communications, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Portfolio, under the supervision of the Prime Minister and with the assistance of other relevant ministries and public bodies, to produce an updated, realistic and rigorously financially structured recovery plan.
The recovery plan, he said that it must be accompanied by clear mechanisms for internal control, regulatory compliance, in-depth audits, human resources management and regular institutional reporting to the State shareholder.
“These instruments should form the basis of a profound restructuring of the company’s managerial governance, with a view to restoring management discipline, strengthening the accountability of managers, improving transparency in decision-making and aligning internal practices with good governance standards,” President Felix Tshisekedi said.
He added, “They should also make it possible to define an optimal management model based on performance, financial sustainability and operational efficiency, guaranteeing the long-term viability of the company, its competitiveness in the air transport market and the preservation of the strategic interests of the State as shareholder,” said Tshisekedi.
This is not the government’s first attempt to revive the national airline, Congo Airways, nor is it the first time President Félix Tshisekedi has observed its precarious situation.
Two years ago, the government had already examined a proposal to renew the fleet of Congo Airways SA.
During the 6th meeting of the Council of Ministers, held on Friday, July 19, 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Communications, and Rural Development, Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, reiterated the measures planned to ensure the national airline’s revival.
According to Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, the five-year business plan included the acquisition, through lease or purchase, of three A320 aircraft.
This initiative was intended to simultaneously address the loss of the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and the IATA accreditation, the deadline for which was set for September 16, 2024.
The national airline, Congo Airways SA, ultimately did not lose its AOC or IATA accreditation by that date, as a moratorium was granted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
