The Minister of Transport and Aviation, Alhaji Fanday Turay has officially launched Sierra Leone’s airline, Air Sierra Leone on Saturday with its inaugural flight slated for December 2, this year.

The inaugural flight will start at London’s Gatwick Airport on a 6-hour trip to Freetown International Airport. The Sierra Leone government has stated that the airline will operate with a “UK Air Operating Certificate (AOC) while working towards securing a Sierra Leonean AOC.”

Some locals in the West African nation have received the news with mixed feelings -that longing for a national carrier after the collapse of Fly Salone and the fact that it is a private venture.

This realisation manifested on Friday when it was made public that the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigerian-based Xejet Aviation Limited. The agreement pointed out that the company will operate regional and international flights from Freetown while establishing a national carrier for the country.

Air Sierra Leone will boast of a fleet of three aircraft —a 50-seat Embraer and two Boeing 737s with 189 and 149 capacities.

Sierra Leone had its first airline back in 1958 after Sierra Leone Airways was formed. But attempts to establish a national carrier have been unsuccessful in the past with Fly Salone ceasing operations on March 17, 2016.