Air Gabon
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| Founded | 1951 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1977 (as Air Gabon) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 2006 | ||||||
| Hubs | Libreville International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Perroquet-Plus | ||||||
| Fleet size | 6 | ||||||
| Destinations | 11 | ||||||
| Company slogan | "The Best Solution" | ||||||
| Parent company | Government of Gabon | ||||||
| Headquarters | Libreville, Gabon | ||||||
| Key people | Jérome Ngoua Bekale | ||||||
Air Gabon was the national, state-owned airline of Gabon, operating out of Libreville International Airport to a variety of destinations across Western and Southern Africa, as well as to Europe, South America and the Middle East. Founded in 1951, the airline went bankrupt in 2006.
Air Gabon was founded in 1951 as Compagnie Aerienne Gabonaise operating regional flights out of Libreville using Beechcraft and DeHavilland aircraft. It became the national flag carrier in 1968, then renamed Societé Nationale Air Gabon.
Compagnie Nationale Air Gabon was established in May 1977, after Gabon withdrew from the Air Afrique consortium in December 1976. The new airline was formed from the nucleus of Société Nationale Transgabon with the mandate to operate long-haul international services from Libreville. At the time of the airline's foundation, the fleet comprised three Fokker F-28s, two Douglas DC-6s, one Douglas DC-4, one de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo, and one Sud Aviation Caravelle. Ownership in the airline was shared between the Gabonese government (70%) and Sofepag (30%), an Air France-associated company.
In April 1977, the airline placed an order for a Boeing 747-200 and Boeing 737 at a cost of approximately US$55 million. In 1978 President of Gabon Omar Bongo gave the airline his personal transport, a Fokker F-28, for use on services. On 5 October the airline's Boeing 747, named President Léon M'ba, arrived as part of the wet lease agreement signed the previous year. On 26 February 1979 one of the airline's Douglas DC-6s crashed into a swamp 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Moanda, killing the aircraft's three occupants.
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