Formed by John Faulkner Taylor with British assistance in the spring of 1972 to provide scheduled interisland services. Employing a single Piper PA-34 Seneca, Taylor inaugurates air taxi service between Victoria and Praslin on July 1. The Seneca is replaced with a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander a month later.
A de Havilland DH 89A Dragon Rapide is received in February 1973 and operates until it is replaced by a second Islander in February 1974. The small company now undertakes regularly scheduled twice-weekly flights, which also visit Bird Island.
Both scheduled and charter services are maintained for four more years. Taylor’s fleet is increased by the addition of a third Islander, plus a BN-2A Trislander.
In July 1979, the carrier is merged into Inter-Island Airways to form Air Seychelles, Ltd.
AIR MALAWI, LTD.: P. O. Box 84, Robins Road, Blantyre, Malawi; Phone 265 620 811; Fax 265 620 042; Http://www. africaonline. co. ke/airmalawi; Code QM; Year Founded 1964.
Preparatory to Malawian independence (the country had previously been known as Nyasaland) in 1964, this carrier is formed in March under the management of Central African Airways Corporation (CAAC) to provide domestic passenger and cargo services. Philip Howard is appointed chairman, with R. D. “Digby” Hartle as managing director. CAAC provides technical and support services under contract, seconds personnel, and provides a start-up fleet comprising 3 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beavers and 2 Douglas DC-3s.
Revenue flights commence on August 1 over a route from Blantyre to Ndola via Salima. In cooperation with DETA (Divisao de Exploracao des Transportes Aereos, S. A.) of Mozambique, a service is also inaugurated from Blantyre to Beira. Air Malawi DC-3s operate the route on Saturdays and DETA flies it on Wednesdays.
Service to Mzuzu begins in January 1965. On February 18, DC-3 flights commence from Salisbury, Rhodesia, to Mauritius, via Blantyre, Nampula, and Antananarivo. Service continues apace in 1966.
In association with CAAC, DC-3 all-cargo and express parcel service is initiated between Blantyre and Salisbury on July 21, 1967. Flown via Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Karonga, the freight operation is the last significant enterprise launched by Air Malawi under auspices of CAAC. The Beavers are replaced on domestic routes by DC-3s.
The decision having been taken to dissolve the consortium airline, CAAC provides Air Malawi with 1 each Vickers Viscount 748, Viscount 754, and Beech 55 Baron.
With the dissolution of CAAC on December 31, Air Malawi becomes fully independent, becoming the national airline. G. T. “Porky” van Rooyen, founder of South West African Airways (Pty.), Ltd., succeeds Digby Hartle as managing director.
Technical support is provided by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) under a newly negotiated contract.
The workforce totals 199 in 1968 and the fleet includes 2 Douglas DC-3s, 1 each Vickers Viscount 748 and 754, and 1 Beech C-55.
Viscount services are inaugurated on April 2 between Blantyre and Johannesburg. The British-made turboprops soon thereafter start flying from Blantyre to Salisbury and from Salisbury to Mauritius via Blantyre and Nampula.
Enplanements for the year total 29,745.
Beginning in 1969 and continuing over the next three years, regional and local services and frequencies are increased as the fleet undergoes standardization that will result in the eventual retirement of the Beech and DC-3s. Two Hawker Siddeley HS-748s are ordered in May, along with 2 Britten Norman BN-2A Islanders.
During the summer, a contract is signed with gold mining interests. Under its terms, the carrier’s DC-3s transport in excess of 6,000 miners, in over 100 flights, from local communities to Francistown.
The first Islander is delivered in November, followed by the first HS-748 just before Christmas.
The second HS-748 arrives in January 1970, allowing the sale of the last DC-3 to go forward in March. When the second Islander is delivered in September, the Beech 55 Baron is sold. A British Aircraft Corporation BAC 1-11-207 is chartered for two years from Zambia Airways Corporation in November.
BAC 1-11-207 flights to Nairobi commence in April 1971, with flights south to Johannesburg starting during the following month. In September, the company orders a BAC 1-11-489.
The fleet is, in fact, strengthened in 1972 by the addition, in early February, of a wet-leased British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) Vickers VC10. The BCAL aircraft, in its owner’s colors, begins flying from Blantyre to London (LGW).
The first owned jetliner, a BAC 1-11-489, arrives on February 23. It joins the four Viscounts in providing or upgrading services from Blan-tyre to various central and southern African destinations, including Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lusaka, and Dar es Salaam. The Zambia Airways Corporation BAC is returned in April.
Bookings for the year are 137,108. Enplanements in 1973 reach upward by 9.2% to 151,000.
The employee population is 648 in 1974. A second BAC 1-11, a Dash-479 leased from Air Pacific, Ltd. (2) , joins the fleet on July 9. The company now inaugurates or increases flights to Beira, Johannesburg, Lusaka, Mangini, Ndola, Nairobi, Salisbury, and the Seychelles. Blantyre to Manzini HS-748 service is also initiated.
Air Malawi’s Vickers VC10, acquired from British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) , is delivered on November 27 and enters service on a Blantyre-London (LGW) via Nairobi and Amsterdam return route on December 3. Five days later, the VC10 appears in full Air Malawi livery for the first time.
Freight traffic grows 16% and passenger boardings jump 22% to 170,000.
VC10 service is launched in 1975 to Johannesburg and the Seychelles and in March the former BCAL jet also undertakes a second weekly roundtrip to London. The BAC 1-11-489 replaces company Viscounts on the Mauritius service on April 1. The Blantyre to Manzini service is shut down in October.
Blantyre to Johannesburg service is advanced to thrice weekly on November 1 while the chartered BAC 1-11-479 is returned to Air Pacific, Ltd. (2) on November 16.
In the four years after 1976, Chairman A. K. Banda’s owned fleet comprises the VC10, 1 BAC 1-11-489, 2 HS 748s, and 2 Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders; airline employment grows to 800. The company continues to employ chartered BACs for its winter schedules. The first is the BAC 1-11-501 Isle of Islay, leased from British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) from December 3 to 17, 1977.
The Vickers Viscount 754 is sold to Air Zimbabwe Corporation during the spring of 1979. In October, the BAC 1-11-530 Isle of Raasay is chartered from BCAL.
The Isle of Raasay is returned in April 1980. The carrier now encounters severe traffic and financial difficulties that force grounding of the VC10. The Vickers Viscount 748 is now also sold to Air Zimbabwe Corporation.
A BAC 1-11-524 is chartered from Hapag-Lloyd Flugdienst, GmbH. on October 30. In addition, 1 Beech King Air C90 and 3 Shorts SC-7 Skyvans are purchased during the fourth quarter.
Enplanements for the year total 101,270.
Enplanements total only 101,483 in 1981 as the impact of the world economic and fuel crises hit home.
The workforce is increased by 6.4% in 1982 to 779. The airline’s 2 BAC One-Elevens and 2 HS 748s fly 130,274 passengers, an increase of 22.1%; cargo also increases 22% to 1.61 million FTKs. A net loss of $389,873 is suffered atop operating losses of $734,556.
Airline employment is up 8.6% to 846 in 1983. With the opening of the new Kamuzu International Airport at Lilongwe, the company’s headquarters and international services are moved to the new facility; the maintenance shops, however, remain at Blantyre.
The world recession continues to be keenly felt as passenger boardings dip 1.9% to 127,845. Figures for cargo are not released. Operating income falls 3.4% to $11.9 million, but expenses are reduced 8.4%; as a result, the operating loss declines to $58,160. Unhappily, net loss skyrockets to $1 million. Bookings decline further in 1984 to 122,707.
On April 1, 1985, the B-747SP-44 Outeniqua is leased from South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. (SAA) just for the purpose of providing an executive transport for a state visit to London. Painted by April 12 in Air Malawi colors and given the temporary name of Mulanje, the Jum-bojet, on April 16, flies President Hastings Banda and his official party from Blantyre to London (LHR) via Amsterdam for a conference. Paying fees all the while, the giant aircraft is parked at the U. K. aerodrome for three weeks until, on May 11, it returns Banda and his party back to their country and is returned to SAA.
During the year, passenger traffic rebounds: boardings are up 20.3% to 154,000. Freight, however, declines 9.02% and a $3.9-million operating loss is taken, together with a net loss of $4.9 million.
The workforce is reduced by 10.8% in 1986 to 817 and the fleet includes 1 each BAC 1-11-489 and 1-11-524, 2 British Aerospace BAe (HS) 748-B2s, 1 Beech 90 King Air, and 3 Shorts SC-7 Skyvans.
Fokker is able to outbid Boeing in January and as a result of its financing package, a new F.28-4000 is delivered in September.
In October, a two-man consultant team (Bill Yeoman and John O’Rourke) begin reorganizing the carrier under a one-year grant from the U. K.’s Overseas Development Administration.
Customer bookings fall 18.5% to 125,273 and cargo traffic plunges 88.9% to 649,621 FTKs. Revenues decline 3.5% to $10.8 million. Losses are $1.2 million (operating) and $2.5 million (net).
Tragedy strikes in 1987 when, en route to Lilongwe from Blantyre on November 6, a chartered SC-7 with 2 crew and 8 passengers is shot down over Ulongwe, Mozambique; there are no survivors. The Mozambique military, which has not received advance notice of the flight, expresses its regret, but warns that carriers wishing to overfly the country must first receive permission to do so.
Enplanements for the year total 83,768 and the company suffers a loss of $624,000.
In 1988, the F.28-4000 is leased to Air Botswana (Pty.), Ltd. and passenger boardings rise 9.6% to 92,663; cargo increases 66.2% to 738,000 FTKs.
The workforce is cut 39.5% in 1989 to 787 and the fleet includes 1 each BAC 1-11-489 and 1-11-524 and 2 BAe (HS) 748-B2s. In June, orders are placed for 2 Boeing 737-300s, although the order will subsequently be cut in half.
Former British Airways, Ltd. (2) official Ian Walker is appointed general manager in May, with Capt. Lewis P. Mbilizi as deputy general manager. Passenger boardings accelerate to 121,173, but freight plunges to 661,000 FTKs.
Company employment grows by 6.7% in 1990 to 840. Customer bookings are level at 120,000, but cargo accelerates to 1.1 million FTKs. Revenues are $18.2 million and costs are kept low enough to allow generation of a $4.68-million operating profit.
The payroll is increased another 2.3% in 1991 to 859 and the fleet now includes 1 each BAe (HS) 748-B2. The 2 BAC 1-11s are withdrawn from service and put up for sale in April in impending anticipation of the outstanding order for a B-737-300.
During the summer, a new Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320 is ordered. Passenger boardings through October are down by 6.8% to 98,157, but freight climbs 49.9% to 1.05 million FTKs.
When the new ATR42-320, named Shire, arrives in December, it replaces the BAe (HS) 748-B2 on domestic routes and on its international services to Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Delay in adding the Boeing short-hauler leads new Chairman J. Z. U. Tembo and General Manager Rex Lezard to reintroduce a leased BAe (BAC) 1-11-481FW early in 1992. Routes operated include: one from Blantyre to Johannesburg and Durban; one from Lilongwe to Johannesburg, Harare, Lusaka, Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi; and, jointly with Air Tanzania Corporation, one from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro and Johannesburg.
Enplanements total 120,521, income exceeds expenses, and there are profits: $796,000 (operating) and $796,000 (net).
Airline employment climbs 2.3% in 1993 to 619. The Shire undertakes weekly all-cargo roundtrip flights in January linking Blantyre and Johannesburg.
The HS-748 is sold during the first quarter. Following receipt of the B-737-33A Kawcha in May, the leased BAe (BAC) 1-11-481FW is returned. A Dornier Do 228-212 is delivered in December and is christened Nyika.
Customer bookings are ahead for the year as a whole by 4.5% to 126,200. Freight increases 56.2% to 1.88 million FTKs, but operating income is down by 0.8% to $18.6 million. Still, with expenses of $18.47 million, an operating surplus of $137,000 is allowed. Net profit swells to $1.6 million.
The employee population is reduced by 1.8% in 1994 to 594.
An agreement is concluded with Air Tanzania Corporation in September; under its terms, the two will operate additional joint services to South Africa sharing costs and revenues. During the same month, Managing Director Lezard is succeeded by his deputy, Capt. Lewis P. Mbilizi; Capt. A. Mehungula becomes the new managing director.
The joint venture operations help to boost traffic significantly. Passenger enplanements climb 10.7% to 135,900 and cargo increases by 13.2% to 43 million FTKs. Revenues are $22.4 million and expenses dip to $13.6 million. The operating profit is $8.8 million and net gain or loss is not reported.
Airline employment stands at 687 in 1995 and enplanements total 131,376. The workforce is reduced by 5.8% in 1996 to 659 and the fleet now includes 1 each ATR42-320, B-737-33A, and Dornier 228212. Cooperative service with Air Tanzania Corporation begins on a route to Dubai. Service, halted earlier, to Mfuwe and Beira is restarted by the Nyika.
Although customer bookings drop 12% to 117,300, operating income soars 28.8% to $22.8 million. Costs climb 29.6% to $14.8 million, but still leave an $8-million operating profit.
Service continues in 1996-1997. During these years, lack of funding causes airport facilities to deteriorate to the point of becoming unsafe. Although the fleet remains the same, Mary Nyandovi-Kerr becomes chairman, with Capt. Wisdom Mchungula as general manager. Plans are made for restructuring and cost-cutting as a survey is conducted for the company by Speedwing, Ltd., a subsidiary of British Airways, Ltd. (2). The addition of a second “Baby Boeing” is also sought.
Regional cooperative service is discussed with Air Zimbabwe Corporation and LAM (Linhas Aereas de Mocambique, S. A.) in 1998. Destinations visited now include Beira, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Makokola, Mangochi, Mfuwe, Mzuzu, and Nairobi.
Work begins on privatization and restructuring in accord with the findings of the Speedwing study.
On September 13, a code-sharing agreement is reached with Air Zimbabwe Corporation; under its terms, the Harare-based flag carrier will inaugurate a sixth weekly London service the following February, via Lilongwe.
The first 40 of 200 employees to be laid off are fired during the last week of October. A staff of 550 is sought.
While taxiing for takeoff from Blantyre on February 5, 1999, a South African Airways (Pty.), Ltd. A300B2 with 143 aboard, suddenly stops and then returns to the gate. A bird has flown into the engine, damaging 10 blades and making it impossible to takeoff. An Air Malawi B-737-33A is chartered to ferry the stranded passengers on to Johannesburg.
New services from Blantyre commence on April 1 to Mbeya in Tanzania, Mfuwe in Zambia, and Entebbe in Uganda, the latter an extension of the current route to Nairobi.
Although traffic or financial figures are not available, it is reported that the company is unprofitable.
During the spring of 2000, Finance Minister Mathews Chikaonda makes a scathing indictment of the carrier for its costly overstaffing practices. Plans are written for the carrier’s privatization.
To make the company more attractive, certain of its peripheral units are spun off over the summer. On August 28, Capt. Mcunngula reports that the Lilongwe Handling Company has been formed and Air Cargo, Ltd. has been relaunched in an effort to avoid continuing delays in passenger and cargo transfers.
AIR MALDIVES, LTD.: Maldives (1974-2000). Formed on October 1, 1974 at Male, Air Maldives, Ltd. commences operations as the national flag carrier on October 9. Purchased six years earlier with assistance from the Sri Lankan Air Force, two Convair CV-440s, christened Flying Fish I and Flying Fish //.link Male and Gan, as well as Colombo, on a scheduled daily basis, while the company also serves as general sales and ground handling agent for several visiting major carriers.
After the Sri Lankan Air Force removes its help (now primarily consisting of trained pilots) on May 31, 1976, the airline is reorganized in June, at which time controlling interest is taken by the Tri-9 Corporation of Singapore.
In May 1977, the Maldives government grounds the carrier’s two Convairs and freezes its accounts, forcing it to cease operations. While legal negotiations ensue, a new flag carrier, Maldive International Airlines, Ltd. (MIA)-formed as a subsidiary of Indian Airlines Corporation (lAC)-is created with lAC assistance on November 1. On November 2, employing leased Indian B-737-2A8As, flights are undertaken linking Male and Trivandrum via Colombo. The Maldives service replaces a recently started service to South India.
The national carrier Maldives Airways begins domestic operations in 1981, flying between Male and Gan with a Dornier SC-7 Skyvan borrowed from the government.
Unsuccessful, MIA is succeeded on September 30, 1984 by Maldives Airways, Ltd., a new state operation with ambitious Mideast backing. Three Douglas DC-8-51s and three Fokker F.27 Friendships are ordered and revenue flights to Madras and other subcontinent destinations commence on March 3, 1985.
Only two Douglas transports and one Fokker are delivered and this company is no more successful than its predecessor was. Financially overwhelmed, Maldives Airways, Ltd. also fails, during the summer of 1986.
A local travel bureau now resurrects the Air Maldives, Ltd. name and is allowed to resume operations as a third-level, domestic carrier. In 1987, Managing Director Anbaree Abdul Sattar’s fleet consists of only the lone government Skyvan, which continues to fly between Male and Gan via Kaddu Island in South Maldives.
With the formation of the holding company Maldives Air Services, Ltd. on January 5, 1988, Air Maldives becomes its principal subsidiary. The new concern is governed by a board of directors, of which Managing Director Satter becomes chairman.
The Skyvan is withdrawn in favor of a Fokker Friendship, but the Dutch-made transport proves unsuccessful and the SC-7 is returned to service in 1989. Two Dornier 228-212s are acquired in 1990, allowing the Skyvan to be placed in storage, and the airline is again reorganized during 1991. The Shorts is returned to service in 1992 and an order is placed in 1993 for a British Aerospace BAe 146-100.
Maldives Air Services and its offspring are replaced on January 1, 1994 by the state enterprise Air Maldives, Ltd. Company officials cancel the BAe request in order to lease and employ an Airbus Industrie A300B4 from Malaysian Airlines, Ltd.
Just after landing at Male on October 18, 1995, a Dornier 228-212, with 3 crew and 5 passengers, runs off the right side of the runway, hits the sea wall, and plunges, upside down, into the sea; all aboard manage to escape, but the plane is lost.
Airline employment stands at 360 in 1996 as the carrier, in January, enters into a management and equity contract with Malaysian Airlines, Ltd. The Maldivian government retains a 51% majority interest.
The company’s three aircraft transport a total of 52,596 passengers during the first quarter. The figure is a 113.3% improvement over the same period a year earlier.
In June the company begins to code-share with MAS over a route from Male to Kuala Lumpur; the Malaysian line superintends the service. Also during the summer, a long-term lease is signed with Adria Airways for an A320-231, which enters service during the fall on a route to Frankfurt via Dubai and Zurich.
A de Havilland Canada DHC-8-202 is delivered on November 4 and, after flying from the factory to the Republic, begins service over domestic routes.
A total of 374 workers are employed by the carrier in 1997. Again, figures are provided only through the first half. These show enplane-ments down 4.6% to 106,022 and cargo off 3.7% to 3.08 million FTKs.
Destinations visited from the company’s Male base in 1998-1999 include Colombo, Dubai, Frankfurt, Gan, Hanimaadhoo, Kaadedhoo, Kadhdhoo, Kuala Lumpur, Trivandrum, and Zurich.
Airline employment during the latter year stands at 435. A total of 11 scheduled weekly services are operated to four international destinations and 22 scheduled weekly flights are made to four domestic destinations.
Employing an A310-324 that had previously flown with Air Jamaica, Ltd., which is leased from Airbus Industrie and had arrived the previous month, the company, on November 9 launches the first scheduled air connection between the Maldives and the United Kingdom. The twice-weekly flights from Mahe into London (LGW) are part of an ambitious company plan to acquire two more of the long-range Airbuses and, at the first of the year, open service to Paris, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Johannesburg.
Serious financial concerns force the company to shut down its international operation on February 28, 2000, the same day on which Managing Director Fauzi Ayob is replaced with Baharudeen Hassan, another employee from the Malaysian investment concern Naluri. Hundreds of tourists are left stranded by the sudden decision.
Domestic services are maintained with the Dornier 228-212s and DHC-8-202 as company representatives and the Maldives government work to regain capitalization for the carrier.
Board members and shareholders’ representatives meet on April 18, but are unable to agree on a refinancing package. The A310-324 is returned to Air Jamaica, Ltd., while the A320-231 goes back to Airbus.
In June, the Maldives government establishes a new airline, Island Aviation Services, Ltd., to operate domestic services with the single remaining Dornier and the Dash-8.
AIR MALI (1) (SOCIETE NATIONAL AIR MALI, S. A.): Mali (1960-1986). With technical support from the Soviet Union, plus a gift of three former British European Airways Corporation (BEA) Douglas DC-3s from the U. K. government, the SNAM is formed at Bamako on October 27, 1960, just over a month after the nation gains its independence from France. A. G. Maiga is named director general.
The new entrant receives exclusive authority to provide domestic and international air services on behalf of the nation. An initial stock offering of up to 45% of shareholding to the public is a failure; most of the start-up capital is provided by the government.
Mali’s new flag carrier begins flying in early 1961, primarily as a government VIP service from the capital of Bamako to the country’s larger communities. In July, Air Mali joins lATA and inaugurates twice-weekly DC-3 return services from Bamako to Gao over a route recently turned over by Air France.
A pair of Ilyushin Il-18Ds, provided as a gift to Mali by the Soviet Union, arrives in July. The big aircraft, wearing Air Mali livery and with Soviet crews, commence scheduled roundtrip service in August from Bamako to Casablanca, Marseilles, and Paris. Flights to Ghana commence in December.
The fleet is increased in 1962-1965 by the addition of 1 Il-14, 2 Antonov An-2s, and 5 Aero 45s. Regional destinations served come to include Abidjan, Accra, Brazzaville, Conakry, Dakar, Douala, Monrovia, and Robertsfield.
Following the February 1966 coup in Ghana, service to Accra is halted. Weekly Il-18D East Berlin services begin in the fall.
An Ilyushin Il-14 with a crew of 17 being ferried to Mali from Russia, crashes at Cayolle Pass, France, on November 5; there are no survivors.
The route to Accra is restarted in the spring of 1967, twice weekly, with the Il-14. Two An-24s are ordered late in the year and are delivered in mid-1968.
The new Antonovs are placed into service in 1969 on a route from Bamako to Niamey via Mopti, Goundam, Tombouctou, and Gao. By 1970, the route network, domestic and into North Africa and to France, totals some 15,000 unduplicated miles.
The service to East Berlin ends in 1971. A Boeing 707-173C Strato-liner is acquired and is employed to provide jetliner services from Bamako to Paris in place of the aging Il-18Ds.
A DC-6 is acquired in 1972 as the world energy crisis begins to reach into Africa. In Ronald Seth’s classic Encyclopedia of Espionage, published by Doubleday in the fall, Air Mali is the only airline included, primarily because of its role in ferrying arms and agents from Prague to Brazzaville during the earlier Simba war in the Congo.
All domestic flights must be cancelled on September 4, 1973 because of a fuel shortage.
On August 12, 1974, en route from Jeddah to Bamako, a chartered Il-18V with 10-man Soviet flight crew and 47 passengers, encounters a storm over Niamey, Niger, and is forced to detour to Ouagadougou, Upper Volta, where, out of fuel, it crashes on a highway while trying to make an emergency landing; there are no survivors.
During the years 1975-1978, Berlin services cease; however, routes are extended to 10 points within the country and to the Ivory Coast, the Congo Republic, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Togo, Liberia, and Niger. During the latter year, General Manager Maigi’s company employs 506 workers. The fleet is upgraded by the addition of 2 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and 1 Boeing 727-173C.
During 1979-1984, an ex-Air Afrique, S. A. Sud Est SE-210 Car-avelle XB and a DHC-6-300 are purchased and a government-owned Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is made available. Airline employment during these years averages 580.
A Twin Otter with 2 crew and 5 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Niela on June 21, 1983; there are no survivors.
Just after takeoff from Tombouctou on a service to Bamako on February 22, 1985, an An-24B with 2 crew and 49 passengers, suffers engine failure and elects to return to its point of origin. The aircraft crashes in the Sahara Desert en route and all aboard, except for one passenger, perish in the disaster.
Long in fiscal difficulty, the carrier goes into liquidation in April 1986.
World History
