Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne International) has announced the pending addition of three aircraft as part of its strategy to improve operational reliability and expand its domestic and regional footprint.

In a statement, the airline disclosed the scheduled arrival on October 10 of a third A320-200 to bolster regional routes and meet rising intra-African travel demand. No further details were revealed, but it already wet-leases two A320-200s from GetJet Airlines, ch-aviation data reveals. ch-aviation has reached out to the ACMI/charter specialist for more information.

In addition, the airline said its second ATR72-600 would return to service in mid-October to reinforce domestic operations. The eight-year-old, company-owned 6V-ASN (msn 1452) has been stored at Nouakchott, Mauritania, since March 2024, ADS-B data shows.

The carrier said it also plans to add a third Let 410 turboprop by the end of 2025 to increase frequencies on domestic routes. As previously reported, the purchase of five Let 410NG aircraft has faced political scrutiny as they have not yet flown commercially due to a lack of trained personnel and technical issues. Two of the five aircraft are grounded, with the rest pending delivery. ADS-B data shows that OK-NGB (msn 5002) and OK-NGC (msn 5003) have been parked at Dakar Blaise Diagne International since March 2024.

Ticketing irregularities

In related news, citing a report in the newspaper L'Observateur, the news agency Seneweb reports that an internal audit at Air Sénégal has revealed serious irregularities in ticket issuance and revenue collection from January to September 2024, implicating 18 employees.

Of these, 13 accepted settlements to reimburse XOF19.4 million CFA francs (USD34,350), while five contested claims totalling XOF8 million (USD14,150). Extending the audit to 2022-23 raised the losses to XOF40.6 million (USD72,000), due to irregular practices like uncollected penalties and manipulated reservations data.

Investigators suspect an internal network manually altering ticketing system data, unaware that since 2021 the system has been linked to an Amadeus IT Group tool, which monitors transactions. The report urged senior management to take action to end these malpractices and enhance sales security.

ch-aviation has reached out to Air Sénégal for comment.