Air Norcafa

Logo used since 2019.

## Status

Active

**Air Norcafa** (formerly **Norcafa Air Transportation** and **Norcafa-Mediterranean Airlines**) is a Norcafian airline based in Maiclaus. It is the flag carrier and largest airline of the country. The airline operates services to destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It's main hub is Maiclaus-Spencer Pickering International Airport with focus cities in Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

As of 2019, Air Norcafa employs over 1,050 people.

## History

### Early years

The airline was established as Norcafa Air Transportation on 14 March 1952 by Macauley Drago, an English aviator originating from Birmingham, who travelled to Norcafa during the late 1940s which at the time was under British rule. Operations commenced the following year.

For the first 6 years the airline offered domestic flights throughout Norcafa. Due to there not being many airports in the country at the time, there were only 3 destinations that included Maiclaus, Bridrow and Port Wilnaror in which all formerly served as military air bases during World War II. Though not much is known about this time period, it was regarded as a success among residents of the country for providing easier access to air transport.

### Expansion

In 1959, the airline opened a new route to Malta which marked the first international route to be offered. To commemorate this, Norcafa Air Transportation was renamed to Norcafa-Mediterranean Airlines to better focus on the destinations it offers.

3 years later in 1962, Norcafa-Mediterranean Airlines would begin to offer destinations to Italy, specifically Catania and Reggio Calabria, with the latter being the first destination in mainland Europe. In 1966 the routes to Bridrow and Port Wilnaror were discontinued as passenger traffic to those towns were dwindling overtime. A new route to Palermo was opened the following year.

During the 1970s and 1980s, more routes opened across the Mediterranean Sea and mainland Europe. The airline was renamed again as Air Norcafa in 1975 in response. As Norcafa was becoming a more popular tourist destination at the time, passenger traffic increased substantially for the airline. 3 McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 models were acquired by the airline in 1977.

In 1983, 5 McDonnell Douglas MD-81 aircrafts were acquired with an additional 2 being delivered in 1988.

### Development since 1990s

The airline ventured into Turkey and Israel by beginning to offer services to Tel Aviv in 1993 and Istanbul in 1995. More destinations subsequently opened in Turkey throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

1997 saw the retirement of the airline's McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 aircrafts. This was done due to the quality of those planes deteriorating overtime as well as to reduce operating costs, according to CEO at the time, Dominic Curtis. They would be transferred to American Airlines until they were retired in 2000 and later scrapped.

A campaign, named "Everyone Deserves To Fly", was launched in 1999 and ran until the following year. In the campaign prices to all flights were discounted by 30%. 4 Boeing 737-400 aircrafts were granted to the airline in the same year to help stabilise traffic. A further 2 orders were planned but were shelved citing financial reasons.

A ceremony was held in Maiclaus in 2002 for the airline's 50th anniversary. A reported 2,500 people were in attendance. To celebrate this, 5 Airbus A320-200 aircrafts were delivered to the airline early the next year.

In 2003, seasonal flights would begin to be offered with Pisa, Italy being the first of such. Flights to the city were made available during the summer.

The airline's McDonnell Douglas MD-81 aircrafts would retire the following year in 2004. The last flight was a full flight and was flown on 19 August from Heraklion to Maiclaus. The fact that it was full was done as a tribute to the aircraft and its services.

During the financial crisis in the late 2000s, Air Norcafa struggled, with over 250 employees being laid off, plummeting passenger traffic and a notable increase in debt. Due to this, the airline filed for bankruptcy in March 2009, though operations continued. However, a slow financial recovery began later that year.

The first transatlantic route from Rome to New York City via London opened in 2012. An Airbus A350-900 aircraft was ordered the previous year to complement the range of the flight. The first flight flown on the route was on 20 July of that year.

More seasonal routes to Egypt, India and the United Arab Emirates began operations throughout the early-mid 2010s. During this time, the airline acquired 5 ATR 72-600 aircrafts, in which 3 would be transferred to Azul Brazilian Airlines later in 2018.

On 31 March 2019, Air Norcafa announced their acquisition of struggling low-cost carrier Explorer for €350 million.

### Impact of COVID-19

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline experienced a major decrease in passenger traffic and revenue with all of the airline's services being put on hold. The airline's Boeing 737-400 aircrafts retired early in 2020.

In the following year, some of the routes began services again, though restrictions and protocols for all flights were implemented to ensure safety for it's passengers.

## Fleet

Air Norcafa operates a fleet consisting of 3 types of aircraft from Airbus, 1 type of aircraft from ATR and 1 type of aircraft from Boeing as of 18 February 2022.

 Airbus A350-900

### Historical fleet

The following aircraft were formerly operated by the airline:

## Destinations

The airline currently offers destinations to 42 cities across 24 countries. There have been plans to expand to countries such as Morocco and Azerbaijan but has not been approved as of yet.

### Codeshare agreements

Air Norcafa codeshares with the following airlines:

* Aegean Airlines
* Air France
* Air Malta
* Austrian Airlines
* British Airways
* Brussels Airlines
* Bulgaria Air
* Croatia Airlines
* El Al
* Etihad Airways
* ITA Airways
* KLM
* Qatar Airways
* Swiss International Air Lines
* TAROM
* Turkish Airlines
* Vueling

## Accidents and incidents

The airline has not experienced any fatal accidents or incidents since its founding.

* 19 July 1978: Air Norcafa Flight 124 was a passenger flight flown from Maiclaus to Catania involving a Boeing 720B where the plane's right wing struck runway 08 upon landing due to severe turbulence, though the plane successfully stopped on the runway. Despite there being no fatalities, 6 of the 59 passengers and 8 crew onboard were injured, specifically 5 passengers and 1 crew member.
* 3 September 1997: A McDonnell Douglas MD-81 aircraft being operated by the airline struck it's tail on runway 25R while landing at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport with minor damage. There were no reported injuries. The plane would be repaired and put back into service a week later.
* 24 March 2005: A timer bomb that failed to detonate was found in one of the airline's Airbus A320-200's cargo hold after a flight from İzmir to Heraklion. The culprit responsible later confessed for the incident and was arrested. Their identity was not publicly revealed.

## Gallery

Logo of Air Norcafa since 2019.Air Norcafa Boeing 737-800 at Istanbul Airport.