One of the few private airline companies operating in South Sudan has announced they are shutting down all their services there due to the worsening exchange rate for the Sudanese pound.
748 airlines is a private Kenyan company that flies to towns across South Sudan.
For those in Unity state, the airline flew between Juba and Bentiu every Tuesday and Saturday. Only one other airline, South Sudan Air, flies to Bentiu.
Yesterday, 748 announced their offices were shutting their doors.
In an interview, Malual Tuong, the branch manager of Unity statessaid, “what I want to tell to the foreigners, is this airline has been used by so many indigenous people .The reason
we are closing is because we are facing a lot of challenges in the market due to the dollars high rates. That is why we stopped.The decision came from the board of Directorate saying we should break for while”.
The cost of the flight 500 pounds used to exchange for 200 dollars, but not anymore.
Tuong said the company is fighting financial loses, and that is why the Board of Directors and the managing director came to Juba to decide on a course of action.
They are hopes of resuming the operation again in the future.
Tuong says, “if we are be able to get any ministry or the bank of South Sudan to give us dollars then we will be able to come back to the market. Otherwise for the moment we don’t know how long we will be out of the market. The decision came yesterdayfrom Nairobi before it was declared in Juba.
The closing applies to all of South Sudan’s operations in ten states of south Sudan.
