View source for Air West

{{short description|Sudanese airline}}
{{distinguish|text= [[Hughes Airwest]], originally known as Air West (1968–70)}}
{{Infobox airline
|airline        = Air West
|logo           =
|logo_size      =
|fleet_size     = 9
|destinations   =
|IATA           = -
|ICAO           = AWZ
|callsign       = -
|parent         =
|company_slogan =
|founded        = {{Start date and age|1992|04}}
|headquarters   = [[Khartoum]], [[Sudan]]
|key_people     =
|hubs           = [[Khartoum International Airport]]
|secondary_hubs =
|focus_cities   =
|frequent_flyer =
|lounge         =
|alliance       =
|website        =
}}
'''Air West''' is an [[airline]] based in [[Khartoum]], [[Sudan]]. It operates domestic passenger services and international cargo charters. Its main base is [[Khartoum International Airport]], with a hub at [[Sharjah International Airport]].<ref name="FI">{{cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= [[Flight International]] | pages= 68–69 | date= 2007-03-27}}</ref>
This airline has no connection to [[Hughes Airwest]] which previously operated in the U.S. as Air West.
The airline is on the [[List of air carriers banned in the European Union]].
==History==
[[File:Air West Boeing 737-200 Mutzenberg.jpg|thumb|Air West [[Boeing 737-200]] in 2006.]]
The airline was established in April 1992 and started operations in October 1992.<ref name="IO">[http://list.msu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0506d&L=sudanese&P=559 Indian Ocean Newsletter] 25 June 2005</ref>
==Incidents and accidents==
<ref>[[Flight International]] July 2005</ref><ref>[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20050203-0 Aviation Safety Network] retrieved 20 November 2006</ref>
On January 24, 2007, [[Air West Flight 612]], a [[Boeing 737]] with 95 passengers and 8 crew on board, was hijacked and diverted to the Chadian capital of N'Djamena. The plane, destined for the town of El Fasher, took off from Khartoum at 8:30 AM. Air traffic control had evidence of only one hijacker aboard the plane. The 24-year-old hijacker, Mahamat Abdelatif Mahamat, was armed with a pistol and several knives. He demanded that the airplane be flown to Britain. When he realized that there was not enough fuel to go to Britain he asked to be flown to Bangui or N'Djamena. The aircraft landed safely in N'Djamena and all passengers were released. The hijacker requested guarantees for his safety from the French embassy and requested political asylum in the United Kingdom. The hijacker's demands were not heeded; he was arrested following twenty minutes of negotiations on the ground.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6293649.stm|title=BBC NEWS - Africa - Chad arrests Sudan plane hijacker|date=24 January 2007|publisher=|accessdate=19 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Man_arrested_after_hijacking_Sudanese_plane.html?siteSect=143&sid=7461155&cKey=1169642253000Sudanese |title=aircraft hijack |access-date=2007-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930221421/http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Man_arrested_after_hijacking_Sudanese_plane.html?siteSect=143&sid=7461155&cKey=1169642253000Sudanese |archive-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Destinations ==
Air West does public services to [[Sudan]], [[Egypt]] and [[Saudi Arabia]].
==Fleet==
The Air West fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 4 April 2018):<ref>http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=AWU&al_op=1 {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
*1 [[Airbus A300-600]] (265)
*2 [[Antonov An-24]] (44)
*1 [[Antonov An-28]] (18)
*1 [[Boeing 737-300QC]] (148)
*2 [[Fokker 50]] (50)
Total:7
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=AWZ&al_op=1 Air West Fleet]
{{Airlines of Sudan}}
[[Category:Airlines of Sudan]]
[[Category:Airlines established in 1992]]
[[Category:1992 establishments in Sudan]]
[[Category:Companies based in Khartoum]]