The national flag carrier of Burkina Faso, founded on 17 March 1967 as Air Volta and renamed in 1984 when the country changed its name. Its head office is the Air Burkina building on Avenue de la Nation, Ouagadougou; its main base is Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport, with an operating point at Bobo-Dioulasso. Public sources list 4 aircraft, one Boeing 737-500, one Embraer E175 and two E195, serving 9 countries including Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Niger and Gabon, with a cargo division, Fret Air Burkina Cargo. No direct freighter service between mainland China and Burkina Faso is publicly listed, so Chinese cargo usually transits a European, Middle East or North African hub to Ouagadougou and is distributed from there.
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Air Burkina (IATA code 2J, ICAO code VBW, radio callsign BURKINA) is the national flag carrier of Burkina Faso. It was founded on 17 March 1967, when the country was the Republic of Upper Volta, and operated as Air Volta; in 1984 the country became Burkina Faso and the airline took its present name. The head office is the Air Burkina building on Avenue de la Nation, Ouagadougou; the main base is Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport, with an office and operating point at Bobo-Dioulasso.
Ownership has changed several times. At the start it was held by the government, Air France and private shareholders; from 2001 to 2017 the AKFED/IPS consortium held the controlling stake; since 2017 ownership has returned to the government of Burkina Faso. The airline was a member of the Celestair alliance and worked with other regional carriers on maintenance systems and operating standards, which has kept its engineering support and operating practice at the level usual for a regional carrier.
The business is mainly scheduled regional passenger service, with cargo handled through two channels, the belly hold and the cargo division. Public sources list Fret Air Burkina Cargo, with offices in the cargo area at Ouagadougou airport, taking bookings, documents and acceptances for general and special cargo. Sectors flown by the Boeing 737-500 offer relatively more belly capacity; sectors flown by the Embraer E175 and E195 take what the belly of a single-aisle regional jet leaves, which varies with the passenger load.
On the China side, no public source lists routes to mainland China or Hong Kong, or a directly owned office in China. Burkina Faso is a landlocked West African country with no seaport, so imports and exports have long depended on neighbouring ports and air links. No direct freighter service between mainland China and Burkina Faso is publicly listed; the usual path is a domestic Chinese airport to a European, Middle East or North African hub, then local capacity to Ouagadougou, then road distribution.
| Airline | Air Burkina |
| Company type | National flag carrier (scheduled regional passenger service; cargo carried by the belly hold and the cargo division) |
| Country | Burkina Faso |
| Global headquarters | Air Burkina building, Avenue de la Nation, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso |
| Hub airport | Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport (OUA/DFFD) |
| Founded | 1967 (founded as Air Volta; present name since 1984) |
| IATA two-letter code | 2J |
| ICAO three-letter code | VBW |
| Radio call sign | BURKINA |
| Air waybill prefix | No publicly available information that can be cross-checked |
| Official lookup website | air-burkina.com |
| Cargo aircraft | Public sources list 4 aircraft in service, one Boeing 737-500, one Embraer E175 and two Embraer E195, all carrying cargo in the belly hold; no freighter is listed |
| China services | No China routes or directly owned China office are publicly listed |
The information above is compiled from public sources. Fleet size and destination coverage may change with operational needs, so check the carrier's latest publication.
The airline runs Fret Air Burkina Cargo, based in the cargo area at Ouagadougou airport, which takes bookings, issues documents and accepts general and special cargo; it is the airline's formal channel for taking freight.
Public sources list a fleet of Boeing 737-500 and Embraer E175 and E195 aircraft, all passenger types; cargo is carried in the belly hold and available space is limited by the passenger load and sector fuel, so it has to be checked per consignment.
Centred on Ouagadougou and covering Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Senegal and Niger, plus one sector to Gabon in Central Africa, it suits regional distribution and transhipment.
Public sources list two domestic points, Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso; Bobo-Dioulasso is the country's economic centre and gives cargo arriving through the capital a second landing point.
Capacity structure: the fleet is made up of single-aisle and regional jets and no freighter is publicly listed, so cargo size is bounded by belly conditions. It suits small and mid-sized lots with defined transit times and pieces that fit through the belly door. For Chinese cargo destined for Burkina Faso, the mainline bulk leg is flown by large aircraft and the airline's fleet takes over only once the cargo enters West Africa. Whether to move cargo per consignment or under a block space arrangement has to be decided by volume, piece count and sector combination.
The fleet is mainly Embraer E-Jets. Public sources list 4 aircraft in service, two Embraer E195, one Embraer E175 and one Boeing 737-500. The E195 is a single-aisle regional jet with seat count and hold volume on the large side for a regional type, suited to mixed passenger and cargo work on regional mainlines. The E175 is slightly smaller and suits shorter sectors with lower seat demand. The Boeing 737-500 is a classic single-aisle narrowbody with noticeably more hold volume than the regional types, and public sources list it as acquired on wet lease. The airline has previously operated the Bombardier CRJ200, McDonnell Douglas MD-87, Fokker F28 and Embraer E170, and in recent years has renewed the fleet around the E-Jet family.
| Aircraft type | Number | Category | Platform characteristics (public reference values) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer E195 | 2 aircraft | Twin-jet (regional) | Single-aisle layout, hold volume on the large side for a regional type | Mixed passenger and cargo on West African regional mainlines |
| Embraer E175 | 1 aircraft | Twin-jet (regional) | Single-aisle layout, slightly smaller than the E195 in seats and hold volume | Shorter regional sectors |
| Boeing 737-500 | 1 (public sources list it as acquired on wet lease) | Twin-jet (narrowbody) | Classic single-aisle narrowbody with more hold volume than the regional types | Regional sectors with larger volumes |
The table is compiled from published sources and the figures are aircraft type reference values, not the payload of an individual aircraft. Usable payload depends on passenger load, fuel, sector length and weight and balance on the day, and the carrier's calculation for that flight governs.
The chart compares aircraft numbers in service. The small fleet and the dominance of regional types set the limit on how much cargo can be taken and how often.
| Cargo types handled | Mechanical and electrical products, light consumer goods, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, mail and express parcels, project spares |
| Suitable shipment sizes | Small and mid-sized lots with defined transit times and pieces that fit the belly door and floor load limits |
| Temperature-controlled cargo types | Public sources do not list a separate temperature-controlled zone, so each shipment must be confirmed individually |
| Runway suitability | Based at Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport, whose runway supports single-aisle narrowbody operations |
| Capacity per flight | Cargo shares the belly and the weight and balance limits with passengers, so it is checked per consignment; block space can be requested when volumes are concentrated |
| Out-of-gauge cargo | Cargo beyond belly door dimensions or the per-piece weight limit cannot be loaded; provide pieces, weight and dimensions in advance for carrier review |
The chart shows destinations from public sources, domestic points in Burkina Faso plus 8 other countries. The high concentration of points reflects a hub-and-spoke network centred on the capital, which means cargo is consolidated and distributed mainly through Ouagadougou.
Published sources do not show the airline operating routes to mainland China or Hong Kong, or keeping its own office in China. There is no published nonstop cargo flight between mainland China and Burkina Faso.No public information availableChinese origin cargo usually transits a European, Middle East or North African hub to Ouagadougou and then connects to the airline's network.
The main base is Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport (OUA/DFFD), the country's largest international airport, located in the capital and equipped with a cargo area where the airline's cargo division is based. Bobo-Dioulasso is the second operating point and handles domestic connections.
Public sources list 9 destinations, covering Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Niger and Gabon. The network radiates from the single centre of Ouagadougou, and most sectors take two to four hours, allowing same-day turnarounds and next-day connections.
| Destinations | Airport code | Country | Service type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ouagadougou | OUA | Burkina Faso | Main base and network centre, where domestic and international sectors meet |
| Bobo-Dioulasso | BOY | Burkina Faso | Domestic point and economic centre, with an airline office |
| Abidjan | ABJ | Cote d'Ivoire | West African regional mainline point with relatively frequent cargo movement |
| Bamako | BKO | Mali | Point toward the West African interior |
| Lome | LFW | Togo | West African coastal point that connects with port-bound cargo |
| Cotonou | COO | Benin | West African coastal point that connects with port-bound cargo |
| Accra | ACC | Ghana | West African regional points |
| Dakar | DKR | Senegal | Westernmost point in West Africa, on a longer sector |
| Niamey | NIM | Niger | Point toward the Sahel |
| Point toward Gabon | — | Gabon | Central African point; no airport code is listed in public sources |
| Mainland China and Hong Kong | — | China | No public information on freight flights |
Point details are compiled from public sources; times are local. Points and schedules may change with the season and operational needs, and the carrier's confirmation on the day of booking applies.
Burkina Faso is landlocked with no seaport, so imports and exports have long relied on neighbouring ports and air transport. The airline does not fly to China, so Chinese cargo moves in two stages: a Chinese origin airport to a European, Middle East or North African hub and on to Ouagadougou, then the airline and local ground agents take over inside West Africa. The value lies in that second stage, distributing cargo that reaches Ouagadougou to West African destinations or covering the interior by road.
Operational note:For carriage from China to Europe, the Middle East or North Africa we match capacity with the mainline carrier on that route. For cargo destined to Burkina Faso, state the final delivery city and piece dimensions at booking so the carrier can plan the aircraft type and sectors; we quote as one package and handle customs clearance and the handover between legs.
| Corporate headquarters | Air Burkina building, 29 Avenue de la Nation, 01 BP 1459 Ouagadougou 01, Burkina Faso |
| Company telephone | +226 25 49 23 25 (switchboard) |
| Cargo department | Fret Air Burkina Cargo, cargo area, Ouagadougou airport, +226 25 30 58 69 |
| Reservations and enquiries | +226 25 49 23 43 to 46; email ouaga@airburkina.bf |
| Second operating point | Bobo-Dioulasso, Avenue du Gouverneur Clozel, +226 20 97 13 48 |
| Official lookup website | air-burkina.com |
| Overseas offices | Public sources list representative offices in Abidjan, Accra, Bamako, Cotonou, Dakar, Lomé and Niamey |
| China contact | No China office is publicly listed. Contact the airline's local agent in China, or ask us to coordinate on your behalf.No public information available |
| Information note | Contact details and office hours may change, so check the carrier's latest publication before handover |
No directly owned office in China is publicly listed, so Chinese shippers cannot easily book with the carrier from inside the country. A local Chinese forwarder can handle booking and export declaration on the mainline and work with the airline's agents in Burkina Faso for the West African sectors and inland road distribution. A forwarder that knows African trade lanes adds value in the following areas:
The airline is the national flag carrier, state controlled since ownership returned to the government in 2017, which gives it a stable footing in traffic rights allocation, airport slots and government project transport.
Public sources list 9 destinations covering Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Niger and Gabon, a ready channel for distribution inside West Africa.
Fret Air Burkina Cargo is based in the airport cargo area, so shippers and forwarders deal with the cargo desk directly instead of going through passenger counters.
Public sources show the fleet has moved from early CRJ200, MD-87 and Fokker F28 types to Embraer E-Jets and the Boeing 737-500; the greater commonality makes engineering and operations support easier to coordinate.
The airline was a member of the Celestair alliance and cooperated with regional carriers on maintenance systems and operating standards, so maintenance and operating practice has stayed consistent.
Only 4 aircraftLimited capacity, and no freighter is publicly listed; all cargo depends on the belly hold, capacity varies with the passenger load, and bulk mainline volumes or full-pallet and full-container outsized cargo cannot be taken.
Limits: the airline's strength is distribution inside West Africa, hub-and-spoke connections and belly cargo consolidated through Ouagadougou. For volume cargo to Burkina Faso we normally use other carriers on the mainline from China to a European, Middle East or North African hub, with the airline and local agents covering the sectors after Ouagadougou and the road leg, pricing each sector separately.
Burkina Faso is landlocked in West Africa with no seaport, so imports and exports have long moved through neighbouring ports and air corridors, with road corridors running to ports in Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Ghana and Benin. Air transport holds a steady share of high-value, time-sensitive cargo, which makes the road leg after arrival an important part of total transit time.
Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport is the country's largest international airport, with a separate cargo area and customs inspection yard able to clear and hold general cargo. It sits inside the capital, close to the city centre, so road distances for distribution are short.
No direct freighter service between mainland China and Burkina Faso is publicly listed, and no scheduled freighter service is publicly listed in Burkina Faso itself; air cargo relies mainly on the belly hold of scheduled passenger flights. Chinese cargo normally goes from a domestic airport to a European, Middle East or North African hub and then by air to Ouagadougou; onward movement to other West African countries is split between regional sectors and road.
On published trade patterns, Chinese exports to West Africa are mainly mechanical and electrical products, building materials, light consumer goods and construction machinery parts; imports are mainly cotton, minerals and agricultural products. Air cargo into Ouagadougou is mostly engineering spares, pharmaceuticals and project materials, so piece size and weight have to match belly conditions, and volume lots are better booked as block space or split into several shipments.
After booking confirmation, submit consignee details for the air waybill, the commercial invoice and the packing list as the carrier requires. For cargo delivered beyond Ouagadougou, the final city and unloading arrangements should be fixed in the plan, and the consignee's ability to clear customs and move cargo locally confirmed. Our proposals itemize export declaration at origin, mainline air freight, regional sectors and delivery at destination.
Public sources list representative offices in Abidjan, Accra, Bamako, Cotonou, Dakar, Lomé and Niamey; nothing is published about offices in China. Contact details, points and available capacity may change, so shippers should check current channels through the carrier's official contacts or with us before acceptance, so that a change of details does not disrupt the shipment.
Air Burkina is the national flag carrier of Burkina Faso, founded in 1967 as Air Volta and renamed in 1984, with head office and main base in Ouagadougou. It flies West African regional routes with a fleet of Embraer E-Jets and the Boeing 737-500, and handles cargo through Fret Air Burkina Cargo and the belly hold.
Public sources give the IATA code 2J, the ICAO code VBW and the radio callsign BURKINA; no air waybill prefix or accounting code can be cross-checked in public sources. The base airport code is OUA and the ICAO airport code is DFFD. Codes and settlement details should be checked with the carrier or an authorized agent before booking.
Published sources do not show the airline operating routes to mainland China or Hong Kong, or keeping its own office in China. There is no published nonstop cargo flight between mainland China and Burkina Faso; Chinese shippers can contact its local agent in China or ask us to make the introduction.
The airline does not fly to China, so there is no schedule or aircraft data for China routes. Once Chinese cargo reaches Ouagadougou and needs to go on to other West African destinations, the airline can carry it on E195, E175 or Boeing 737-500 aircraft; schedules change with the season and operating conditions, subject to carrier confirmation on the day of booking.
Public sources list 4 aircraft in service, two Embraer E195, one Embraer E175 and one Boeing 737-500, all passenger types, with no freighter listed. Cargo moves in the belly hold and capacity has to be checked per consignment; for volume lots apply for block space early and keep an alternative sector in reserve.
Regional distribution is planned by shipment batch and destination group: several destinations in one area can be consolidated to Ouagadougou and forwarded in batches, urgent batches can request priority loading on a single sector, and batches moving by road need both vehicle loading and road conditions checked. For deliveries through the second landing point, confirm the day's operating arrangement with the carrier in advance.
Goodhope Freight is based in Shenzhen and specializes in international air cargo from China to Africa and other major markets. It designs air cargo solutions to Burkina Faso and West Africa, shipping from major Chinese airports via European, Middle East or North African hubs to Ouagadougou and connecting to Air Burkina regional sectors and inland road distribution, covering quoting, export declaration, air freight, customs clearance and delivery; solutions and rates are available on request.
Disclaimer:Prepared by Goodhope Logistics (China) Limited (Goodhope Freight). Airline names, codes, trademarks and brand marks mentioned here belong to their respective owners. We are an independent international freight forwarder and have no affiliation, agency or investment relationship with this airline. The information is compiled from public sources for reference only and does not form a contract of carriage or a service commitment. Space, rates and schedules are subject to actual confirmation by the carrier or its authorized agent on the day of booking.