Taking a leaf from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)'s book and their ongoing clean-up exercise of Nigerian airports, AERIA, the Ivorian company responsible for the management and running of Abidjan's main air gateway, l'Aéroport International Félix Houphouët-Boigny, (also known as Port Bouet International Airport) has embarked on a similar clean up of the airport's grounds, with some 20 abandoned and derelict aircraft having been scrapped or in the process of being scrapped. |
| Former Electra Airlines DC-10 in Abidjan, now scrapped (PRM) |
According to General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, the director general of AERIA, the move to rid Abidjan of its decaying wrecks comes as the country seeks the establishment of direct flights to the US, which require a minimum IASA certification of Category 2.
The clean up will also facilitate the start of upgrade and expansion works to the airport, which will also involve the building of a commercial zone next to the airport, with a lodging area, hangars, a convention centre, a trade-free zone, office buildings, warehouses, exhibition halls, a shopping centre and housing for dedicated staff.
So far, the exercise has seen the scrapping of a former Greek Electra Airlines (ELD) McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 (MSN 48294 | SX-CVP) that has been sitting abandoned in Abidjan since 2003.
