Chrome Air Service was an airline based in Lagos, Nigeria. It was established sometime in the year of 1990 and operated a small charter service within Nigeria and other cities and countries in Western Africa.[1] The company operated two BAC One-Eleven 500s since 1999, but the airline became defunct after April 30, 2007, after failing Nigerian airline safety standards. One aircraft has presumably been scrapped and the other, BAC One-Eleven 487GKF (Registration: 5N-SEO), remains in storage at Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania as of August 2017.

Chrome Air Service
IATA ICAO Call sign
CHO CHROME AIR
Founded1990 (1990)
Unknown founding location, possibly Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Ceased operationsApril 30, 2007
Fleet size2
HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria

History

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5N-UJC, a BAC One-Eleven 525FT on 8 February 2004.

Chrome Air Service was founded in 1990. The origin city is unknown, although it is most likely Lagos, Nigeria. It is also presumed the airline commenced operations in 1999. That year, Chrome Air Service got two used BAC One-Eleven 500s, previously leased by several other airlines. However, in 2007, the Nigerian government set a deadline of April 30, 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to "ensuring better services and safety" for Nigerian airlines.[2] Chrome Air Services, along with six other airlines, failed to meet the deadline and as a result were not allowed fly in Nigeria's airspace beginning on April 30, 2007.[2] The affected airlines would only fly if they satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)'s criteria in terms of re-capitalization and thus be re-registered for operation. As of October 2016, Chrome Air Service has yet to meet the criteria, and likely went defunct in 2007.[citation needed] The status of the airline's fleet is unknown as of October 2016, although both aircraft are presumed to have been scrapped. One of the aircraft (5N-UJC) has been transported to an aircraft boneyard, while the other (5N-SEO) was transported to Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania.[3]

Fleet

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The Chrome Air Service fleet consisted of the following:

Chrome Air Service Fleet
Aircraft Number of Aircraft Registration Status Notes
BAC One-Eleven 525FT 1 5N-UJC[4] Unknown, most likely scrapped and broken down[5][3] Aircraft has been leased with several other companies, including TAROM, Lauda Air, Istanbul Airlines, and Ryanair.[4]
BAC One-Eleven 487GKF 1 5N-SEO Stored at Henri Coandă International Airport outside near the taxiway in January 2013.[6] Aircraft has been in use with TAROM and Anglo Cargo previously before being leased to Chrome Air Services.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Airlines Nigeria". Airline History. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "AVIATION: 13 AIRLINES MEET RECAPITALISATION DEADLINE, OTHERS GET QUIT NOTICE". NigeriaDirect. Federal Ministry of Information and Communications. May 2, 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "STORED FLEET". bac1-11jet.co.uk. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Registration Details for 5N-UJC (Chrome Air) BAC-1-11-525FT". Plane Logger. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "STORED FLEET". bac1-11jet.co.uk. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Registration Details for 5N-SEO (Chrome Air) BAC-1-11-487GKF - Plane Logger". Plane Logger. Retrieved October 16, 2016.