ECAIR - Equatorial Congo Airlines (EQR, Brazzaville) has been forced to suspend all operations after regional African air navigation provider ASECNA withdrew its services from the carrier on October 10.
"Because of the debt, ASECNA's General Directorate has ordered the suspension of the provision of air navigation services to all Equatorial Congo Airlines flights on all ASECNA platforms with effect from October 10, 2016," the body said in a letter to the Republic of Congo's civil aviation authority (ANAC).
According to the AFP news agency, the letter did not mention the amounts owed, but also mentioned a similar suspension of services to Spanish LCC Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat).
ASECNA provides air navigation services across six African Flight Information Regions (FIRs) of which three - Brazzaville, Niamey, and N’Djamena - play key roles in ECAIR's operations.
As such, ch-aviation research shows that the Congolese airline's fleet of active aircraft, leased from PrivatAir (Switzerland) (Geneva), are all currently grounded. B767-300(ER) HB-JJF (msn 27613) has been in Shannon, Ireland since October 15 while B757-200 HB-JJD (msn 25807) is parked in Brazzaville having last operated a domestic rotation to Pointe Noire on October 17.
