Aviation History
Cameroon's national airline history began with Cameroon Airlines (Camair), founded in 1971 as domestic and regional flights moved out from under the pan-African carrier Air Afrique. Cameroon Airlines was plagued by financial and safety problems and ceased operations in 2008; it was replaced by the state-created Camair-Co, which did not launch flights until 2011. Camair-Co has never turned a profit and, as of the mid-2020s, operates a much-reduced fleet under IMF-monitored financial restructuring, with its long-term viability an ongoing and unresolved question.
Camair is established as a majority state-owned carrier, with a minority Air France stake, to build a national identity apart from regional carrier Air Afrique.
Camair launches scheduled domestic flights between Douala and Yaoundé using Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
Camair adds the Boeing 747-200 to its fleet for long-haul international service.
French aviation authorities ban Cameroon Airlines from Paris routes over safety and maintenance concerns.
A presidential decree establishes Camair-Co as a planned successor carrier while the ailing Cameroon Airlines continues operating.
Cameroon Airlines shuts down entirely amid unresolved debts and safety concerns, leaving the country without a flag carrier.
Nearly five years after its creation, Camair-Co finally begins commercial service, inheriting many of the same structural challenges as its predecessor.
Camair-Co is placed under an IMF-monitored performance contract while continuing to operate at a loss with much of its small fleet grounded; its financial and operational status remains unstable and subject to change.
Camair-Co · Cameroon Airlines (defunct)
Wikipedia, Simple Flying, IMF and aviation trade press — note: Camair-Co's financial and operational status is unstable and should be verified against current sources
Aviation Firsts
Douala International Airport — Douala (1938): Earliest documented regulatory reference to civil aviation at Douala is a 25 June 1932 legal text regulating flights over the city, per the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority's own official history pages; by 1934 a construction project for airport infrastructure at Douala, Garoua and Yaoundé was announced (Douala aero club founded the same year). Decree No. 381530 of 21 May 1938 formally established Douala as one of four "border airports" (with Batouri, Garoua and Yaoundé). No source gives a single clean "opened on [date]" statement; the 1938 decree is the most precisely dated formalization found. · Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority ↗
Régie Air Cameroun (1950): Founded 26 September 1950 to serve internal routes (while Air France handled international routes from Douala); ceased 1953 after only about three years. Listed as the earliest airline on Wikipedia's "List of defunct airlines of Cameroon" and independently corroborated by the Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority's own official history page. No competing claim found. · Wikipedia ↗
No documented foreign entrant found. Checked Douala and Yaoundé-Nsimalen airports, run by state company Aéroports du Cameroun (ADC), which appears to handle ground services itself; no independent third-party handler (foreign or domestic) is named in available sources. Specifically checked for Çelebi, AHS, Groupe CRIT/Congo Handling, Swissport, and Havaş and found no evidence of any operating in Cameroon. IATA's GHP directory shows zero listed partners for Cameroon.