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 Singer relaunches Air Djibouti, 14 years after it shut down operations, flying Boeing 737 from Wales to nation on Horn of Africa 
 
 Air Djibouti’s first passenger flight in 14 years landed in the small nation on Thursday with Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson at the controls. 
 
 
 
 The airline, one of Africa’s oldest, shut down all operations in 2002 but partially relaunched in August 2015 with a cargo service as the continent’s aviation industry became increasingly competitive. 
 
 Dickinson, frontman of the heavy metal band – whose hits include The Number of the Beast, Run for the Hills and Aces High – is also a pilot and owns the company which will manage the airline. 
 
 He flew the plane into Djibouti from Cardiff, Wales. 
 
 Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson to help set up African airline Read more 
 
 Aboubaker Omar Hadi, the president of Djibouti’s port authority and free zones, said: “Djibouti confirms its position as a business and transport hub located on the [world’s] second most important maritime route.” 
 
 “Air Djibouti will allow the world to discover that Djibouti has incredible potential,” Omar Hadi added at a ceremony held once the plane had landed. 
 
 Air Djibouti will initially serve regional destinations including Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Nairobi in Kenya, as well as nearby Middle Eastern destinations such as Dubai and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 
 
 Route expansion to Asia and Europe will begin in 2017 with a target of 200,000 passengers a year. 
 
 The president, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, also attended the ceremony on the runway at Djibouti airport, while journalists and dignitaries disembarked the Boeing 737 piloted by Dickinson. 
 
 The airline is expected to take receipt of three new aircraft by the end of the year. 
 
 Air Djibouti was founded in 1963. The new company remains a state-owned entity but management was taken on by Cardiff Aviation, Dickinson’s company. 
 
 The east African state of 870,000 people is heavily involved in large-scale infrastructure projects with Chinese financing, including two new airports, six new ports and a train line connecting Djibouti with Addis Ababa. 

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 By: AJOT | Aug 11 2016 at 09:15 AM | Air Cargo 
 
 Delivery flight signals Djibouti’s growing status as global trade and investment hub. 
 
 
 
 Djibouti - Air Djibouti took delivery of the first Boeing 737-400 aircraft in Djibouti in preparation for the launch of Air Djibouti’s new commercial operations. His Excellency Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Air Djibouti, along with other dignitaries, met the plane and crew at Djibouti’s International Airport in a ceremony welcoming this important step in Djibouti’s development as a global transport hub. 
 
 Bruce Dickinson, Chairman of Cardiff Aviation, which provides Air Djibouti with operational management, delivered the Boeing 737-400 personally. The plane travelled from Cardiff, stopping in Malta for re-fuelling. The plane will officially go into service on August 16, flying to regional destinations initially. 
 
 Air Djibouti plans to introduce two BA146-300 aircraft by mid-September and mid-October, and a Boeing 767-200 in December this year, initially operating between Djibouti and London. Other international destinations are expected to follow soon after, as well as regional freight services. 
 
 UK-based aircraft services and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, Cardiff Aviation, is providing technical assistance and management, and secured the European-level Air Operator’s Certificate for Air Djibouti. 
 
 The launch of Air Djibouti’s commercial operations is a crucial element of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority (DPFZA)’s strategy for establishing Djibouti as a major logistics centre for the region. With two new airports under construction that are expected to be operational by 2019, the country is building its air transport links to complement its already well established road, rail and maritime transport network. 
 
 Bruce Dickinson said: 
 
 “The arrival of the first aircraft comes at a particularly exciting time for the region as Djibouti leads in spearheading the growth of aviation in East Africa.” 
 
 Djibouti is strategically located on the second busiest shipping lane in the world. It is a natural meeting point for the East and West’s global business development. The DPFZA is working to replicate its success in port logistics in the aviation sector. Air Djibouti’s commercial operations will further develop the country’s international connections and accessibility. Djibouti’s current transport and logistics infrastructure programme exceeds $15 billion.
– Djibouti hasn't seen passenger flights in more than a decade—until Thursday, when the lead singer of Iron Maiden flew the first Air Djibouti passenger flight into the small African nation since 2002. In addition to being a heavy metal rocker, Bruce Dickinson is also a pilot and the owner of the company that will manage Air Djibouti, the Guardian reports. The airline shut down 14 years ago and partially relaunched last year, but only with cargo service. Air Transport World reports that Djibouti "has major ambitions to become the region’s logistics hub and is pouring $15 billion into two new airports, a seaport, and railways." Notes Dickinson, per the American Journal of Transportation, "The arrival of the first aircraft comes at a particularly exciting time for the region as Djibouti leads in spearheading the growth of aviation in East Africa."