Avirex

 

A photograph taken by Remi Dallot and published on jetphotos.net

Founded in 1994 as a small operation supporting remote areas of Gabon, Avirex initially provided logistical support to the logging industry using light aircraft. Its growth trajectory shifted when it was acquired by businessman Philippe Salles, who drove a major expansion, transforming it into a regional airline based at Léon Mba International Airport in Libreville.

Starting in 2000, the introduction of three Beechcraft 1900Cs allowed the company to launch scheduled passenger services within Gabon, while charter contracts with oil companies and Air France consolidated its market position. Increasing demand subsequently led to the addition of higher-capacity aircraft, including an ATR 42, a Douglas DC-9-30, and—as the sole example of its type in the fleet—a Fokker F28 Fellowship.

The addition of the F28 marked a significant milestone in Avirex's development. The Dutch twinjet enabled the airline to increase seat capacity and expand operations into neighboring countries, complementing the domestic flights and charter services that formed the core of its business. Although the company never operated a large fleet of jets, the Fellowship became the flagship aircraft of the enterprise and symbolized its ambition to establish itself as a leading regional operator in Central Africa.

The only Fokker F28 operated by Avirex was an Mk.4000, msn.11126, delivered in November 2003 under registration TR-LGP. The aircraft had previously spent its entire operational career in Sweden, first with Linjeflyg and later with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), before beginning its African chapter. Under Avirex colors, it flew scheduled and charter services until the company’s worsening financial situation gradually took its toll.

Operating jet aircraft entailed a substantial increase in direct operating costs (DOC), a factor that, combined with broader economic difficulties, severely compromised the airline’s viability. In 2007, Avirex filed for bankruptcy and was liquidated, bringing an end to a journey that had begun with modest flights to logging camps and, for a few years, saw the Fokker F28 Fellowship take center stage in Central African commercial aviation.

Attempted attack on the presidential aircraft

In February 1977, members of the criminal organization Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) carried out one of their boldest—and at the same time least known—actions: Operation Gaviota, an attempted attack against the acting president of the country, Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videla.

The operation aimed to destroy the presidential aircraft during takeoff from Jorge Newbery Airport by detonating explosive charges placed beneath the runway. The aircraft involved was a Fokker F-28 Fellowship used for presidential transfers.

The ERP extremists managed to bury explosives under an active runway using a remote detonation system, which required prolonged access to the airport area and detailed knowledge of presidential routines. The name “Operation Gaviota” referred both to the coastal environment of the airport and to the symbolic naming tradition used by the organization.

On February 18, 1977, at 8:40 a.m., as the T-02 (Fokker F-28) began its takeoff roll bound for Bahía Blanca, an explosive device detonated 15 meters from the side of the runway, inside the drainage vault of the Maldonado Stream. The explosion caused earth and debris to be displaced but did not affect the aircraft’s takeoff. As a precaution, the T-02 proceeded to El Palomar Air Base, where it was confirmed that the aircraft had sustained no damage, allowing it to continue its planned journey to Bahía Blanca. Meanwhile, the airport was closed, and flights were diverted to Ezeiza.

Onboard the aircraft with Videla were Economy Minister José Martínez de Hoz, Energy Secretary José Zubarán, Generals Osvaldo Azpitarte and José Villarreal, and Brigadier Oscar Caeiro. From Bahía Blanca, they would board a helicopter to the General Mosconi oil platform, which was to be inaugurated on that occasion.

The terrorists sought to exploit the opportunity presented by Videla and part of his entourage using the airport facilities, which offered a relatively easy target due to the infrastructure. To carry out this action, they placed a 100-kilogram charge of TNT on the roof of the tunnel beneath the runway; using a raft floating on the stream, they deployed hundreds of meters of cables and set up an observation post. However, the operation failed: one of the charges did not detonate, and the other exploded partially and with delay, after the aircraft had already begun its takeoff. The military regime attempted to downplay the incident publicly, avoiding widespread acknowledgment of the attack’s seriousness.

Internally, however, the consequences were significant. Operation Gaviota exposed serious deficiencies in presidential and airport security, particularly regarding the protection of critical infrastructure. In response, security protocols were strengthened: runway inspections were intensified, presidential flights from Aeroparque were limited, and greater reliance was placed on military bases for official travel.

From a historical perspective, the operation belongs to the final stage of the ERP as an organized armed force, at a time when it had already been severely weakened by actions of the Argentine Army.

Today, Operation Gaviota is remembered as one of the most significant attacks in Argentine history, an episode in which aviation and airport infrastructure converged in a dramatic way.

* msn. 11028 Fokker F28 Mk1000 FF. 08Dic70. PH-EXA Fokker, T-01 Gobierno Argentino 28Dic70 "Patagonia", rr T-02 01Mar75, rr T-01 01Ago77, btz "Pte. Juan Domingo Perón", T-03 1995.

Borrowed colours III

     

Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 LV-MZD (cn.11127) at Miami, Dec1979. Photo: Christian Volpati.

 

 One summer afternoon in 1979, while looking out from the terrace at Aeroparque, I managed to distinguish among the various aircraft on the apron the unmistakable shape of a particular Fokker F-28. There was no doubt that it looked different from the others operated by the state-owned company since 1975. Not only because of its colour scheme, but also because it was longer.

    These were not the days when one could simply go online and find out what it was. However, if one was familiar with the various colour schemes, thanks to the specialised magazines that helped nurture our still fledgling spotting knowledge — Interavia, Air Pictorial and Aircraft Illustrated, to name but a few — it was possible to identify it. This particular aircraft turned out to be the first of its type in Argentina, as the second Mk.4000 did not arrive until 1999, when T-02 - cn. 11203- was incorporated and assigned to the Presidency of the Nation.     

    Upon its arrival, the aircraft still carried the colours of NLM Cityhopper, and entered service in this guise: wearing "borrowed clothes". Before long, it would receive the full colour scheme of the Argentine company, once it was formally acquired in Apr80. In 1990, the aircraft was destroyed at Villa Gesell.