Start-up carrier Sentra Airways has announced plans to launch long-haul routes out of Manchester airport.
The paper airline wants to fly to destinations in both Africa and the US, and has agreed lease terms on a used A330-200 aircraft, which will be delivered this summer.
According to a press release issued by Air Lease Corporation, Sentra Airways is based “on the southern outskirts of Bradford”, and plans to focus on “niche point-to-point scheduled destinations”.
The first of these will be Manchester-Accra in the third quarter of this year, “with more routes to follow including further African destinations and the USA”.
The release also said that “Sentra Airways is positioning itself as an Airline of Choice for the operational routes served, future alliances, and a focus on regional partnership for the beyond traffic”.
There are currently no direct, nonstop flights between Manchester and Accra – British Airways serves the Ghanaian capital from London Heathrow, while Air France operates flights from Paris CDG, and Brussels Airlines flies from the Belgian capital.
Commenting on the lease agreement Ishmael Musah, chairman and accountable manager of Sentra Airways, said that the carrier was “delighted to have finally reached this significant milestone”, while Bruce Fenton, executive director of Sentra Airways, commented:
“We would like to express our thanks to ALC for being our lease partner for the first Sentra Airways A330-200.
“We look forward to further collaborations with ALC and completing the regulatory approvals to gain our UK AOC certification later this year.”
It’s worth noting that Sentra Airways’ plans were first announced around a year ago, with the carrier having originally targeted a launch date of September 2021.
Sentra Airways is the latest in a raft of start-up carriers planning long-haul flights from the UK – Norse Atlantic Airways has secured slots at Gatwick airport, while Hans Airways is targeting flights between Birmingham and secondary Indian cities, and Flypop plans to serve Indian destinations from Stansted.
