Simiyu Airlines Fokker 50

Simiyu Airlines is a niche African airline, based out of Kilimanjaro, with headquarters in Bariadi. It operates a diverse fleet of aircraft, ranging from the Cessna 208 to the Airbus A320. This fleet includes a single lone Fokker 50, 5H-HIE. -HIE was delivered in October of 2008, after being bought from Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, after it had been left abandoned on the premises for several years.

-HIE commonly flies links to cities such as Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro, as well as many routes to smaller towns-many with dirt runways. In 2015, it was parked in Mwanza for three months after the aircraft suffered an engine explosion on descent, causing an engine panel to fall off. It also damaged its' radome after a bird strike on approach to Dodoma in 2018, which caused -HIE to be out of service for two weeks.

The executive board of Simiyu Airlines has twice considered removing -HIE from the fleet, but has relented as they have struggled to find any viable replacements. There is a rumour that they will attempt to buy another aircraft from a lessor, however, Simiyu has struggled in the past with leases, having one of their DHC-6-100 Twin Otter aircraft (5H-DRR) taken away from them after they failed to complete the necessary payments. -HIE still continues to fly, serving about 2,000 passengers a year.

In addition to -HIE being over forty years old, upkeep of the aircraft is growing increasingly expensive, and the risk of crashing is a looming threat. This incentivizes Simiyu to retire the aircraft, as a crash could cause either bankruptcy or a forced government shutdown of the airline.

***NOTE: This is not an official publication. Simiyu Airlines does not endorse or authorize the resale and redistribution of this poster (Many of us can see why).***