Air Congo (Compagnie Congolaise de Transports Aériéns) was founded in 1961 by private investors to operate charter and feeder flights in
French Equatorial Africa with
Douglas DC-3s and
Douglas DC-4s. Based in
Pointe-Noire, in 1963 the airline saw a route expansion after taking over numerous routes which were previously operated by
Air Afrique. The route network linked
Brazzaville and
Pointe-Noire with
Moanda in
Gabon. On 16 March 1964, the airline was recapitalised and reformed, and the name was changed to
Air Congo (Brazzaville). In August 1965, the airline was renamed Lina Congo in an attempt to lessen confusion with it and the
airline of the same name from
Zaire. By this time, the airline was 66% owned by the
Congolese government. The fleet of the airline in the early 1970s comprised one
Douglas DC-4, two
Douglas DC-3s, one
Fokker F27 and two light aircraft, and the route network took in Brazzaville,
Fort Rousset,
Dolisie,
Impfondo,
Jacob,
Makabana,
Makoua,
Moanda,
Ouesso and
Pointe-Noire.. The program which was made up of $4,904,000 in grants, and a $880,000 loan, allowed for the overhaul of Lina Congo, in addition to infrastructure in the country. By the late 1970s, two Canadian built
de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters had joined the fleet, and the rest of the fleet comprised one DC-3, one
Nord 262, two
Antonov An-24s and two
Fokker F27s. In addition a single
Douglas DC-6 was leased from the Canadian International Development Company. In 2002, the airline was dissolved by the Congolese government after sustaining heavy losses and continuing to be a drain on government coffers. ==Fleet==