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BMed expands into West Africa
British Airways franchise partner BMed is to provide the only scheduled links between the UK and Sierra Leone and Senegal.
The airline is launching flights to the two West African countries from Heathrow this winter.
Flights will run three times a week from October 30. The airline will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from Heathrow Terminal 4 to Dakar in Senegal and onward to Freetown in Sierra Leone.
The move represents the return by BA liveried aircraft to West Africa for the first time since the early 1990s when thr airline withdrew flights to the region.
Sierre Leone was torn apart by a nine-year civil war up until 2002 but is now in the process of economic recovery. BMed estimated UK trade with the country to be worth £27 million a year, with Britain home to a Sierra Leone community of more than 60,000 people.
Trade between the UK and Senegal is estimated to be worth £75 million a year.
BMed chief executive David Richardson said: “The introduction of services to West Africa is the latest phase in our current programme of progressive business expansion.
“We have identified a clear need for direct air links with Freetown and Dakar and we feel that these destinations are ideally suited to our fleet and the stype of service BMed offers. We see good prospects for sustainable growth in these emerging markets.”
The airline said further network development was under “active consideration”.
Report by Phil Davies
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