Dakar: Senegal's flagship airline has removed its cabin crew from its popular Dakar-Paris route and replaced it with employees from a Georgian carrier following suspicion of contraband package trafficking, an airline official told AFP.
Air Senegal grounded its entire Senegalese crew on the route starting on September 17, the source told AFP Monday, and replaced them with employees from MyWay, a private Georgian carrier.
Local newspaper WalfQuotidien reported over the weekend that staff were allegedly charging fees under a parcel trafficking scheme to carry goods for people between the two locations.
According to the publication, internal sources cited rates of around 10,000 CFA ($17) per kilogramme of package.
It said some cabin crew used their personal baggage allowances for commercial purposes.
However, these reports have not been confirmed by Air Senegal.
For several months, the Dakar-Paris route has been served by MyWay's aircraft.
Air Senegal, which is facing financial difficulties, had its fleet size reduced when several planes were seized for financial reasons.
The airline is state-owned and began operations in May 2018.
It was established following the 2016 bankruptcy of Senegal Airlines, which had in 2009 replaced Air Senegal International which was jointly owned by Senegal and Morocco.
